captain thomas drummond 1797 1840 under secretary ireland Scottish civil engineer
Captain Thomas Drummond (10 October 1797 - 15 April 1840) was a Scottish civil engineer, born in Edinburgh. Drummond used the Drummond light which was employed in the trigonometrical survey of Great Britain and Ireland. He is sometimes mistakenly given credit for the invention of limelight, at the expense of Sir Goldsworthy Gurney. However, it was Drummond who realised their value in surveying. Dummond was born in October 1797, the second of three sons. Despite his father dying when he was young, he credited his mother with getting him through his education at Edinburgh High School and then on to be a cadet at Woolwich Academy in 1813. He showed an early gift for mathematics. After Woolwich he was stationed in Edinburgh and was involved with public works. He was bored with this and had enrolled at Lincolns Inn when he was recruited to use his trigonometry to help conduct a survey in the Highlands. This new work was done in the summer with the more difficult months being passed in London. Drummond took this opportunity to improve his knowledge of mathematics and science. He attended lectures by Sir Michael Faraday. At these he learned of the discovery of limelight. In 1824 Dummond was involved in a survey of Ireland and here he used the new Drummond light. He reported that the light could be observed 68 miles away and would cast a strong shadow at a distance of thirteen miles. This surveying work was in preparation for the new constituencies required by the Reform Bill. This link shows how it was possible for Drummond to be appointed secretary to Lord Spencer and due to the intercession of Lord Brougham he was given a pension of 300 pounds per annum. In 1835 Drummond married the wealthy heiress, Maria Kinnaird, who was the adopted daughter of the critic Conversation Sharp (1759-1835). They had three children, Emily, Mary and Fanny. Drummond was given the post of Irish Under-Secretary, a position he held from 1835 until his death in 1840.
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