(John), an eminent civil engineer, was born the 28th of May 1724, O.S. at Aulthorpe, near Leeds, in a house built by his grandfather, and where his family have resided ever since.

The strength of his understanding and the originality of his genius appeared at an early age; his playthings were not the playthings of children, but the tools which men employ; and he appeared to have greater entertainment in seeing the men in the neighbourhood work, and asking them questions, than in any thing else. One day he was seen (to the distress of his family) on the top of his father's barn, fixing up something like a windmill; another time, he attended some men fixing a pump at a neighbouring village, and observing them cut off a piece of bored pipe, he was so lucky as to procure it, and he actually made with it a working pump that raised water. These anecdotes refer to circumstances that happened while he was in petticoats, and most likely before he attained his fifth year.

About his 14th and 15th year, he had made for himself an engine for turning, and made several presents to his friends of boxes in ivory or wood very neatly turned. He forged his iron and steel, and melted his metal; he had tools of every sort for working in wood, ivory, and metals. He had made a lathe, by which he had cut a perpetual screw in brass, a thing little known at that day, which was the invention of Mr Henry Hindley of York; with whom Mr Smeaton soon became acquainted, and they spent many a night at Mr Hindley's house till day-light, conversing on those subjects.

Thus had Mr Smeaton, by the strength of his genius and indefatigable industry, acquired, at the age of 18, an extensive set of tools, and the art of working in most of the mechanical trades, without the affluence of any matter. A part of every day was generally occupied in forming some ingenious piece of mechanism.

Mr Smeaton's father was an attorney, and desirous of bringing him up to the same profession, Mr Smeaton therefore came up to London in 1742, and attended the courts in Westminster hall; but finding (as his common expression was) that the law did not suit the best of his genius, he wrote a strong memorial to his father on that subject; whose good sense from that moment left Mr Smeaton to pursue the bent of his genius in his own way.

In 1751 he began a course of experiments to try a machine of his invention to measure a ship's way at sea, and also made two voyages in company with Dr Knight to try it, and a compass of his own invention and making, which was made magnetic by Dr Knight's artificial magnets: the second voyage was made in the Fortune sloop of war, commanded at that time by Captain Alexander Campbell.

In 1753 he was elected member of the Royal Society; the number of papers published in their Transactions will show the universality of his genius and knowledge. In 1759 he was honoured by an unanimous vote with their gold medal for his paper intitled "An Experimental Inquiry concerning the Natural Powers of Water and Wind to turn Mills, and other Machines depending on a Circular Motion."

This paper, he says, was the result of experiments made on working models in the years 1752 and 1753, but not communicated to the Society till 1759; before which time he had an opportunity of putting the effect of these experiments into real practice, in a variety of cases, and for various purposes, so as to assure the Society he had found them to answer.

In December 1755, the Eddystone lighthouse was burnt down: Mr Welton, the chief proprietor, and the others, being desirous of rebuilding it in the most substantial manner, inquired of the earl of Macclesfield (then president of the Royal Society) whom he thought the most proper to rebuild it; his Lordship recommended Mr Smeaton.

Mr Smeaton undertook the work, and completed it in the summer of 1759. Of this Mr Smeaton gives an ample description in the volume he published in 1791: that edition has been sold some time ago, and a second is now in the press, under the revision of his much esteemed friend Mr Aubert, F.R.S. and governor of the London assurance corporation.

Though Mr Smeaton completed the building of the Eddystone lighthouse in 1759 (a work that does him to much credit), yet it appears he did not soon get into full business as a civil engineer; for in 1764, while in Yorkshire, he offered himself a candidate for one of the receivers of the Derwentwater estate; and on the 31st of December in that year, he was appointed at a full board of Greenwich hospital, in a manner highly flattering to himself; when two other persons strongly recommended and powerfully supported were candidates for the employment. In this appointment he was very happy, by the affluence and abilities of his partner Mr Walton one of the receivers, who taking upon himself the management and accounts, left Mr Smeaton leisure and opportunity to exert his abilities on public works, as well as to make many improvements in the mills and in the estates of Greenwich hospital. By the year 1775 he had so much business as a civil engineer, that he wished to resign this appointment; and would have done it then, had not his friends the late Mr Stuart the hospital surveyor, and Mr Ibbetson their secretary, prevailed upon him to continue in the office about two years longer.

Mr Smeaton having now got into full business as a civil engineer, performed many works of general utility. He made the river Calder navigable; a work that required great skill and judgment, owing to the very impetuous floods in that river: He planned and attended the execution of the great canal in Scotland for conveying the trade of the country either to the Atlantic or German ocean; and having brought it to the place originally intended, he declined a handsome yearly salary, in order that he might attend to the multiplicity of his other business.

On the opening of the great arch at London bridge, the excavation around and under the bridge was so considerable, that the bridge was thought to be in great Smeaton, great danger of falling. He was then in Yorkshire, and was sent for by express, and arrived with the utmost dispatch: "I think (says Mr Holmes, the author of his life) it was on a Saturday morning, when the apprehension of the bridge was so general that few would pass over or under it. He applied himself immediately to examine it, and to find about the stonings as minutely as he could; and the committee being called together, adopted his advice, which was to repurchase the stones that had been taken from the middle pier, then lying in Moorfields, and to throw them into the river to guard the stonings." Notting shows the apprehensions concerning the falling of the bridge more than the alacrity with which this advice was pursued; the stones were repurchased that day, horses, carts, and barges, were got ready, and they began the work on Sunday morning. Thus Mr Smeaton, in all human probability, saved London-bridge from falling, and secured it till more effectual methods could be taken.

The vast variety of mills which Mr Smeaton constructed, so greatly to the satisfaction and advantage of the owners, will show the great use which he made of his experiments in 1732 and 1733; for he never trusted to theory in any case where he could have an opportunity to investigate it by experiment. He built a steam engine at Authurpe, and made experiments thereon, purposely to ascertain the power of Newcomen's steam-engine, which he improved and brought to a far greater degree of perfection, both in its construction and powers, than it was before.

Mr Smeaton during many years of his life was a frequent attendant on parliament, his opinion being continually called for; and here his strength of judgment and perspicuity of expression had its full display: it was his constant custom, when applied to, to plan or support any measure, to make himself fully acquainted with it, to see its merits before he would engage in it: by this caution, added to the clearness of his description and the integrity of his heart, he seldom failed to obtain for the bill which he supported an act of parliament. No one was heard with more attention, nor had any one ever more confidence placed in his testimony. In the courts of law he had several compliments paid him from the bench by Lord Mansfield and others, for the new light which he threw on difficult subjects.

About the year 1785 Mr Smeaton's health began to decline; and he then took the resolution to endeavour to avoid all the business he could, so that he might have leisure to publish an account of his inventions and works, which was certainly the first wish of his heart; for he has often been heard to say, that "he thought he could not render so much service to his country as by doing that." He got only his account of the Eddystone lighthouse completed, and some preparations to his intended Treatise on Mills; for he could not resist the solicitations of his friends in various works: and Mr Aubert, whom he greatly loved and respected, being chosen chairman of Ramsgate harbour, prevailed upon him to accept the place of engineer to that harbour; and to their joint efforts the public is chiefly indebted for the improvements that have been made there within these few years, which fully appears in a report that Mr Smeaton gave in to the board of trustees in 1791, which they immediately published.

Mr Smeaton being at Authurpe, walking in his garden on the 16th of September 1792, was struck with the palsy, and died the 28th of October. "In his illness (says Mr Holmes) I had several letters from him, signed with his name, but written and signed by another's pen; the division of them showed the strength of his mind had not left him. In one written the 26th of September, after minutely describing his health and feelings, he says, 'in consequence of the foregoing, I conclude myself nine-tenths dead; and the greatest favour the Almighty can do me (as I think), will be to complete the other part; but as it is likely to be a lingering illness, it is only in His power to say when that is likely to happen."

Mr Smeaton had a warmth of expression that might appear to those who did not know him well to border on harshness; but those more intimately acquainted with him, knew it arose from the intense application of his mind, which was always in the pursuit of truth, or engaged in investigating difficult subjects. He would sometimes break out hastily, when anything was said that did not tally with his ideas; and he would not give up any thing he argued for, till his mind was convinced by sound reasoning.

In all the social duties of life he was exemplary; he was a most affectionate husband, a good father, a warm, zealous, and sincere friend, always ready to afflit those he respected, and often before it was pointed out to him in what way he could serve them. He was a lover, and encourager of merit wherever he found it; and many men are in a great measure indebted to his affluence and advice for their present situation. As a companion, he was always entertaining and instructive; and none could spend any time in his company without improvement.