John Edye

John Edye FRS (7 August 1789 – 1 March 1873)[1] was the talented Chief Clerk in the Surveyor of the Navy's Office during the 19th century.[2] He invented a new means of construction for wooden warships and produced the detail for the Surveyor William Symonds's many designs.[2] Together he and Symonds created larger and larger wooden warships for the Royal Navy,[2] which were able not only to defeat an enemy by weight of fire (as the Navy had long been able to do) but also to pursue them and force battle.[2]

Edye was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society on 5 February 1835.[1]

  1. ^ a b Complete List of Royal Society Fellows 1660-2007, page 109
  2. ^ a b c d Biography of Symonds by Andrew Lambert on the Dictionary of National Biography, with details on Edye.