ofessor of Practical
Engineering in Trinity College, Dublin, and at the opening of the
railway from Dublin to Drogheda, which he constructed in 1844, received
the honour of knighthood from Earl de Grey, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.
When we remember that Sir John was no less able as a teacher than as an
author, and that his knowledge of engineering was not bounded by mere
theory alone, we get a clue to the eminently practical turn of mind
which characterised his illustrious pupil. In 1844 Mr. Rankine commenced
business as a civil engineer in Edinburgh. His residence in Edinburgh
was unrelieved by any event worthy of being recorded in his biography,
if we except a project, which he brought before the authorities and
zealously promoted, for obtaining a more efficient supply of water.
After a two or three years' residence in Edinburgh, Mr. Rankine
determined to remove to Glasgow, where a more congenial sphere appeared
ready to receive him. Entering into partnership with Mr. John Thomson,
he took an active part in all great schemes of a scientific or
mechanical nature; and it was while here engaged in private practice
that he again called attention to the admirable source of water supply
afforded by Loch Katrine, thus reviving a project which had been
originated in 1845 by Messrs. Gordon and Hill. It was reserved for others
to carry to a successful issue the scheme thus earnestly advocated by
Rankine; but to him belongs the merit none the less of having urged it
upon the authorities of that day. After the lapse of several years,
during which he no doubt improved his time and opportunities by laying
the foundation of that series of text books which he produced with
remarkable fecundity in a marvellously short space of time, Mr. Rankine
was appointed in 1855 to the Chair of Civil Engineering and Mechanics in
Glasgow University. This Chair, we may explain, was instituted by Queen
Victoria in 1840, and is in the gift of the Crown. Its first occupant
was Louis D. B. Gordon, C.E., who subsequently devoted his whole time
and attention to the practical business of civil engineering and to
telegraphy, in connection with which subjects he has made a great
reputation. The curriculum of study imparted by Professor Rankine
includes the stability of structures; the strength of materials; the
principle of the actions of machines; prime movers, whether driven by
animal strength, wind, or the mechanical action of heat; the principles
of hydrau