author
Sir William Willcocks
1852–1932
Best known for designing the first Aswan Dam, this British engineer spent decades reshaping irrigation systems in Egypt and beyond. His work linked engineering skill with the politics and ambitions of the late imperial world.
1 Audiobook
The Nile in 1904
by Sir William Willcocks
About the author
Born in India in 1852, Sir William Willcocks trained as an engineer at the Thomason College of Civil Engineering at Roorkee. He went on to work in the Indian and Egyptian public works departments and became especially known for large-scale irrigation and water-control projects.
Willcocks is most closely associated with Egypt, where he proposed and designed the first Aswan Dam on the Nile. He later worked on major irrigation schemes in South Africa and in parts of the Ottoman Empire, and he earned a reputation as one of the leading irrigation engineers of his time.
He died in Cairo in 1932. Today he is remembered not only for ambitious dam and canal projects, but also for how closely engineering, empire, and control of water were tied together in his career.