John Leck Bruce

John Leck Bruce
Born(1850-10-16)16 October 1850
Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland
Died29 November 1921(1921-11-29) (aged 71)
Blakehurst, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
NationalityBritish
OccupationArchitect
PracticeBruce & Sturrock
BuildingsArlington Baths Club

John Leck Bruce (16 October 1850 – 29 November 1921) was a Scottish-born architect, sanitary engineer and teacher. He was born in Glasgow to Robert Bruce (clerk), and his wife Jane (née Leck).[1]

Bruce began practising professionally at 21 years old (1871/72), and in 1874/75 he took David Sturrock into partnership under "Bruce & Sturrock", as well as working as a consulting engineer for Glasgow Corporation.[2] He was one of the architects contributing to the development of the Turkish baths at the Arlington Baths Club Glasgow[3] and presented a paper to the Philosophical Society of Glasgow on the heating of Turkish baths in 1879.[4]

In 1877 he married Charlotte Florence Cochran in Birkenhead, England. They had five children: Robert (1878–unknown), Charles John (1880–1961), Gerald Whitney (1882–1917), Cecile Blanche Ritchie (1891–1959) and Maida Charlotte Jean (1895–1943).

In 1887 he migrated to Australia and settled in Sydney, New South Wales. In 1889 he became a foreman of works in the government architect's branch of the Department of Public Works, and from 1891 until his death he worked as first lecturer in sanitary engineering at Sydney Technical College.[5]

Bruce worked as the Sydney editor of Building and Engineering Journal of Australia and New Zealand and assistant editor of Australian Technical Journal, and in 1901 he authored The Australian Sanitary Inspector's Textbook. He died in 1921 of cerebral thrombosis in Blakehurst, Sydney.[1]

  1. ^ a b Antill, J. M. (1979). "Bruce, John Leck (1850–1921)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 7. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  2. ^ "John Leck Bruce". DSA Architect Biography Report. Dictionary of Scottish Architect. 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2005.
  3. ^ "Turkish Delight". Arlington Baths Club History Group. 31 July 2018. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  4. ^ Bruce, J. L. (30 April 1879). "On the Heating and Ventilation of Turkish Baths". Proceedings of Royal Philosophical Society of Glasgow. 11. Royal Philosophical Society of Glasgow: 493. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  5. ^ "Bruce, John Leck (1850 - 1921)". Encyclopedia of Australian Science. 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2019.