John Fowler | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 15 July 1817 |
| Died | 20 November 1898 (aged 81)[citation needed] Bournemouth, Hampshire, England |
| Occupation | Engineer |
| Engineering career | |
| Discipline | Civil engineer |
| Institutions | Institution of Civil Engineers (president) Institution of Mechanical Engineers |
| Projects | Metropolitan Railway Millwall Dock Forth Bridge (A) Manchester Central (II*) Wicker Arches (II*) Torksey Viaduct (II*) |
| Significant design | Fowler's Ghost fireless locomotive |
Sir John Fowler, 1st Baronet, KCMG, LLD, FRSE (15 July 1817 – 20 November 1898) was an English civil engineer specialising in the construction of railways and railway infrastructure. In the 1850s and 1860s, he was engineer for the world's first underground railway, London's Metropolitan Railway, built by the "cut-and-cover" method under city streets. In the 1880s, he was chief engineer for the Forth Bridge, which opened in 1890. Fowler's was a long and eminent career, spanning most of the 19th century's railway expansion, and he was engineer, adviser or consultant to many British and foreign railway companies and governments. He was the youngest president of the Institution of Civil Engineers, between 1865 and 1867, and his major works represent a lasting legacy of Victorian engineering.