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|mother=Eliza Davey Tailer (1812-1872)
|mother=Eliza Davey Tailer (1812-1872)
|skills=civil engineer+mechanical engineer
|skills=civil engineer+mechanical engineer
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|image=Williamunwin.png
|short_name=William Unwin
|short_name=William Unwin
|sources=Wikipedia (see below)<new note>
|sources=Wikipedia (see below)<new note>
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{{Showfacts biography}}
{{Showfacts biography}}
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{{
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{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2014}}
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{{Infobox engineer
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|name = William Unwin
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|nationality = English
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|birth_date = 12 December 1838
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|birth_place = [[Coggeshall]], Essex
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|death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1933|3|17|1838|12|12}}
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|death_place =
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|education = [[City of London School]] and [[New College London]]
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|discipline = [[Civil engineering|Civil]]
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|institutions = [[Institution of Civil Engineers]] (president), [[Institution of Mechanical Engineers]] (president)
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|practice_name =
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|significant_projects =
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|significant_design =
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|significant_advance =
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|significant_awards = [[Kelvin Gold Medal]]
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}}
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'''William Cawthorne Unwin''' [[Royal Society|FRS]] (12 December 1838 – 17 March 1933<ref name="obit">''Evening Standard Obituary'' 18 March 1933.</ref>) was a British [[civil engineer|civil]] and mechanical engineer. He is noted for his extensive work on [[hydraulic engineering|hydraulics]] and engines as well as his close association with [[William Fairbairn]]. He is one of only a few men who have served as president of both the [[Institution of Civil Engineers]] and the [[Institution of Mechanical Engineers]]. Unwin served as an engineering advisor to the government during the [[First World War]] and was the first recipient of the [[Kelvin Gold Medal]] awarded by the Institution of Civil Engineers.
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== Biography ==
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William received an education from the [[City of London School]] and studied for a year at [[New College London|New College]], [[St John's Wood]], many of the universities being closed to him due to his [[congregational]] roots. Having finished his studies he began work for [[William Fairbairn]] as a clerk in February 1856. Initially he worked in the Fairbairn Engineering Company testing department carrying out and documenting various structural and material tests.<ref name="FRS">{{Cite journal | last1 = Wilson | first1 = J. S. | title = William Cawthorne Unwin. 1838-1933 | doi = 10.1098/rsbm.1934.0001 | journal = [[Obituary Notices of Fellows of the Royal Society]] | volume = 1 | issue = 3 |page=167 | year = 1934 | jstor = 768818| pmid = | pmc = }}</ref>
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In 1862 he was appointed to be works manager of the Williamson Brothers engineering works in [[Kendal]] where he manufactured [[water turbine]]s for use in [[mill (factory)|industrial mills]].<ref name="Graces">[http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/wiki/William_Cawthorne_Unwin Graces Guide]</ref> He returned to Fairbairn's as manager of the engine department in 1856, studying in his spare time to gain a bachelor of science degree by 1861.<ref name="FRS"/> In 1868 he lectured at the school of [[Royal School of Naval Architecture|Marine Engineering and Naval Architecture]] in London and began a series of five courses on civil engineering for [[Royal Engineers]] officers at [[Brompton, Kent|Brompton Barracks]] in Kent. Having finished his lectures at Brompton he was appointed to the [[professor|chair]] of hydraulic and mechanical engineering at the [[Royal Indian Engineering College]] (Coopers Hill) in Surrey in 1872. He remained there for twelve years, also serving as [[dean (education)|dean]] of the college.<ref name="FRS"/>
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He published ''Elements of Machine Design'' in 1877, one of his most famous articles. He also wrote the [[hydraulics]] entry for the [[Encyclopædia Britannica]] in 1881, an article that was much in demand by engineers of the time and resulted in that part of the Encyclopaedia being much sought after.<ref name="FRS"/> In 1885 he was appointed professor of civil and mechanical engineering to the [[City and Guilds College]], becoming the first professor of engineering at the [[University of London]] when the college was incorporated in 1900, he retired from academic life in 1904.<ref name="Graces"/> Upon his retirement, [[William Dalby (engineer)|W. Ernest Dalby]] replaced him in the vacated professorial chair.
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Between 1890 and 1893 Unwin served as secretary of the commission to install [[hydroelectric power]] generators at [[Niagara Falls]] for the [[Niagara Falls Power Company]], a scheme which would result in over 75 [[megawatt]]s of electricity being generated for the town of [[Buffalo, New York|Buffalo]]. He was retained by the company as a consulting engineer for the construction phase of the project. In this period he also acted as a consultant on various hydraulic schemes, including projects for the [[Government of Western Australia]], the [[New Jersey Water Company]], [[Severn Trent|Derwent Valley Water Board]], the [[List of reservoirs and dams in the United Kingdom#West Midlands|Birmingham reservoirs]] and [[Lake Vyrnwy]] in [[Powys]].<ref name="FRS"/>
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Much of Unwin's work in the 1890s was the testing of engines and boilers initially for coal-fired [[steam engine|steam systems]] but later on [[internal combustion engine]]s. He also investigated the [[tensile strength]] of various alloys using the 100 ton testing equipment at the college. Between 1896 and 1900 he was a member of the Departmental Committee of the [[Board of Trade]] investigating the loss of strength in steel rails performing many experiments on behalf of the committee.<ref name="FRS"/>
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He was elected as President of the [[Institution of Civil Engineers]] in November 1911 and served a one-year term.<ref name="civils">
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{{Cite book | first = Garth | last = Watson| title = The Civils | publisher = London: Thomas Telford Ltd | page = 252
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| year = 1988 | isbn = 0-7277-0392-7 | postscript = <!-- Bot inserted parameter. Either remove it; or change its value to "." for the cite to end in a ".", as necessary. -->{{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref> In 1913 he was made chairman of an Institution of Civil Engineers committee investigating the training of engineers, his professional development scheme remains an integral part of the training program. During the [[First World War]] Unwin volunteered his services to the government and served on the Gauge Committee of the [[Ministry of Munitions]]; the Metropolitan Munitions Committee and the Munitions Management Board. He served as Presidential Chair of the [[Institution of Mechanical Engineers]] between 1915 and 1916.<ref name="FRS"/>
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In 1921 he was the first recipient of the [[Kelvin Gold Medal]]. He was regarded by [[Alexander Kennedy|Sir Alexander Kennedy]] as one of the few professors with a full knowledge of the practical aspects of the profession.<ref name="FRS"/> Late into his life he remained dedicated to the profession, attending a discussion on impact testing hosted by the Institution of Civil Engineers when he was 82. Unwin died, unmarried, at his home in Kensington on 17 March 1933.<ref name="Graces"/>
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== Honours ==
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1886 [[Fellow]] of the [[Royal Society]] <BR>
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1886 Honorary Associate of the [[Royal Institute of British Architects]] <BR>
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1890 Honorary Member of the [[American Philosophical Society]] <BR>
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1890 Honorary Member of the [[Franklin Institute]] <BR>
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1892 President of the [[Engineering Section]] of the [[British Association]] <BR>
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1894 Member of the Council of the Royal Society <BR>
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1896 James Watt Memorial Lecture (topic chosen by Unwin: the life of [[Gustave-Adolphe Hirn]])<ref>{{cite magazine|author1=Addison, Henry Robert|author2=Oakes, Charles Henry|author3=Lawson, William John|author4=Sladen, Douglas Brooke Wheelton|title=UNWIN, William Cawthorne|magazine=Who's Who|year=1905|volume= 57|page=1637|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iEVLAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA1637}}</ref><BR>
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1905 Honorary [[Doctor of Laws]] from [[Edinburgh University]] <BR>
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Honorary Member of the [[American Society of Civil Engineers]] <BR>
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Honorary Member of the [[American Society of Mechanical Engineers]]
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{{Siblings}}
{{Siblings}}
{{showfacts residences}}
{{showfacts residences}}
{{showfacts awards}}{{showfacts journeys}}{{showfacts workhistory}}{{showfacts military}}{{showfacts religious}}{{showfacts community}}
{{showfacts awards}}{{showfacts journeys}}{{showfacts workhistory}}{{showfacts military}}{{showfacts religious}}{{showfacts community}}
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{{footer}}
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== References ==
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{{Reflist}}
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{{wikisource author-inline}}
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{{s-start}}
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{{s-npo|pro}}
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{{s-bef|before=[[Alexander Siemens]]}}
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{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Presidents of the Institution of Civil Engineers|President]] of the [[Institution of Civil Engineers]] |years=November 1911 – November 1912}}
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{{s-aft|after=[[Robert Elliott-Cooper]]}}
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{{s-bef|before=[[Hay Frederick Donaldson|Sir Frederick Donaldson]] }}
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{{s-ttl|title=President of the [[Institution of Mechanical Engineers]] |years=1915–1916 }}
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{{s-aft|after=[[Michael Longridge]] }}
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{{end}}
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[[Category:Presidents of the Institution of Civil Engineers]]
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[[Category:Presidents of the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers]]
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[[Category:British civil engineers]]
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[[Category:British mechanical engineers]]
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[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Society]]
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[[Category:People from Coggeshall]]
{{person-enWP|William Unwin}}
{{person-enWP|William Unwin}}