Gourt > Science > Technology > Civil Engineering > History > Engineers > Bazalgette, Joseph
Sir Joseph William Bazalgette (28 March 1819 – 15 March 1891) was one of the great Victorian civil engineers. As the chief engineer of London's Metropolitan Board of Works, his major achievement was the creation of a sewer network for central London that helped relieve the city from cholera epidemics, while beginning the clean-up of the River Thames that had reached a nadir with "The Great Stink" of 1858.
Beginnings
He was born in Enfield, the son of a captain in the Royal Navy and grandson of a French immigrant, and began his career working on railway projects articled to noted engineer Sir John MacNeill and gaining sufficient experience (some in Northern Ireland) in land drainage and reclamation works for him to set up his own London consulting practice in 1842. By the time he married, in 1845, Bazalgette was deeply involved in the expansion of the railway network - working so hard that he suffered a nervous breakdown two years later.
While he was recovering, London's shortlived Metropolitan Commission of Sewers ordered that all cesspits should be closed and that house drains should connect to sewers and empty into the Thames; a cholera epidemic (1848-49) then killed 14,137 Londoners.
More on [ Joseph Bazalgette ]
@justinpearse I think I'd probably just end up talking to him about Joseph Bazalgette and the Embankment.
evarley (Elizabeth Varley) Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:51:04 -0000
@justinpearse I think I'd probably just end up talking to him about Joseph Bazalgette and the Embankment.
New post on @stevenbjohnson, Joseph Bazalgette, sewage and the development urban infrastructure systems: http://tiny.cc/13buE
rafay_alam (Rafay Alam) Mon, 02 Nov 2009 05:44:48 -0000
New post on @stevenbjohnson, Joseph Bazalgette, sewage and the development urban infrastructure systems: http://tiny.cc/13buE
Bazalgette and London's Sewage - Illustrated article describing the background to the construction of the London sewer system.
Meta Description: [ How London disposes of its sewage ]
Joseph Bazalgette (1819 - 1891) - Influential in improving the appearance of London and designer of the London sewer system. Biography from the B.B.C.
Meta Description: [ As chief engineer to London's metropolitan board of works in the mid 19th century, Bazalgette had a significant impact both on London's appearance and, through his design of an efficient sewage system, on the health of its inhabitants. ]
Sanitary Reform of London: The Working Collection of Sir Joseph Bazalgette - Introduction and biographical notes to this collection held at Stanford University.
The Crossness Pumping Station - Built by Joseph Bazalgette as part of Victorian London's urgently needed main sewerage system. History and restoration data.
Wikipedia: Joseph Bazalgette - Biography, works, related links and references.
| The Great Stink - History of sewage - Thames Water | |
| Next Video | |
