author
Robert Stevenson
1772–1850
Best known for building the Bell Rock Lighthouse, this Scottish engineer helped make some of Britain’s most dangerous coastlines far safer. His practical inventions and long career with the Northern Lighthouse Board made him one of the great lighthouse builders of the 19th century.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in Glasgow on June 8, 1772, Robert Stevenson became a leading Scottish civil engineer at a time when sea travel depended on reliable coastal lights. He studied mathematics and the sciences, worked closely with his stepfather Thomas Smith, and went on to join the Northern Lighthouse Board, where he spent decades designing and improving lighthouses around Scotland.
His most famous achievement was the Bell Rock Lighthouse, an extraordinary project built on a reef in the North Sea and often remembered as one of the great engineering feats of its age. Stevenson also designed many other lighthouses and developed improvements in lighthouse lighting, helping ships navigate more safely through difficult waters.
He died in Edinburgh on July 12, 1850. Stevenson is also remembered as the grandfather of the writer Robert Louis Stevenson, and as the founder of a remarkable family tradition of engineers.