Benjamin Blyth II

Benjamin Hall Blyth FRSE (25 May 1849 – 13 May 1917), often called Benjamin Blyth II, was a Scottish civil engineer.[1]

Benjamin Blyth II
Birth nameBenjamin Hall Blyth
Date of birth25 May 1849
Place of birthEdinburgh, Scotland
Date of death13 May 1917(1917-05-13) (aged 67)
Place of deathNorth Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland
SchoolMerchiston Castle School
UniversityUniversity of Edinburgh
Notable relative(s)Benjamin Hall Blyth I
Mary Dudgeon Wright (parents)
SpouseMillicent Taylor
ChildrenBenjamin Edward Blyth
Elsie Winifred Blyth
Rugby union career
Position(s) Forward
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
- Merchistonians ()
Provincial / State sides
Years Team Apps (Points)
1872-73 Edinburgh District 2 (0)
3rd President of the Scottish Rugby Union
In office
1875–1876
Preceded byAlbert Harvey
Succeeded byWilliam Hamilton Kidston
Benjamin Blyth II
NationalityScottish
OccupationEngineer
Engineering career
DisciplineCivil
InstitutionsInstitution of Civil Engineers (president),
Royal Society of Edinburgh (fellow)
Practice nameBlyth and Blyth

Family

Blyth, who was born at 36 Minto Street,[2] Edinburgh,[3] was the eldest of the nine children of Mary Dudgeon Wright and the railway engineer Benjamin Blyth.[1] He was educated at Merchiston Castle School between 1860 and 1864 before studying for a Master of Arts degree from the University of Edinburgh, graduating in 1867.

After the death of both parents – Benjamin Blyth in 1866 and Mary Dudgeon Wright in 1868 – Blyth and his siblings were brought up by their mother's sister, Elizabeth Scotland Wright.[4][5]

Rugby Union career

Amateur career

Blyth played for Merchistonians.[6]

Provincial career

Blyth played in the world's very first representative provincial match in November 1872. This was the 'Inter-City': the match between Glasgow District and Edinburgh District. Blyth represented the Edinburgh side.

Administrative career

He became the 3rd President of the Scottish Rugby Union, holding the post between 1875 and 1876.[7]

Engineering career

Following his father's death, Blyth entered the family engineering consultancy and became a partner five years later. Blyth served as a consultant to the North British Railway and the Great North of Scotland Railway and served in an advisory capacity to the British Army with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in the Engineer and Railway Staff Corps. In 1872, he married Millicent Taylor[8] with whom he had a son, Benjamin Edward, who died in infancy,[9] and a daughter, Elsie Winifred.[1] He became a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1877, being elected to its council in 1900. He served as vice-president in 1911 and in 1914 became the first practising Scottish engineer to serve as president.[10] On 7 February 1898 he became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.[11]

Political career
Blyth's house at 17 Palmerston Place, Edinburgh

In later life, Blyth lived in a large Victorian townhouse at 17 Palmerston Place in Edinburgh's West End.[12]

Blyth stood as the Unionist candidate for the East Lothian by-election of 1911, but lost to the Liberal candidate, John Deans Hope by 468 votes. One of his policies was opposing giving home rule to Ireland.[13]

Death

Blyth was widowed on 12 September 1914. He died in North Berwick on 13 May 1917, of "spittielioma of tongue"[14] and was survived by his daughter. His nephew, Benjamin Hall Blyth (sometimes referred to as Benjamin Blyth III) was the son of his brother Francis Creswick Blyth – who was taken on by Blyth and Blyth in 1909,[15] continued the consultancy after his death.[1]

The grave of Benjamin Hall Blyth, Dean Cemetery

He is buried on the obscured southern terrace of Dean Cemetery in Edinburgh, towards the east. His wife, Millicent Taylor (1852-1914) is buried with him. Their infant son, Benjamin Edward Blyth, who died in 1875 aged six weeks lies at their feet.

Legacy

He trained James Simpson Pirie FRSE (1861-1943), founder of J S Pirie & Sons. Pirie ran Blyth & Blyth from his death until the end of the war.[16]

References
  1. "Dictionary of Scottish Architects entry". Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2008.
  2. Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1849
  3. Old Parish Record of birth
  4. Will of Mary Dudgeon Wright, held by Scottish records
  5. Census of Scotland 1871
  6. "Football - Inter-City Football Match". The Glasgow Herald. 25 November 1872. p. 5.
  7. "Past Presidents of Scottish Rugby Union" (PDF). Scottish Rugby Record 2018/19: 107. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 November 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  8. "Former Fellows of The Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783 – 2002" (PDF). p. 94. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 September 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  9. Blyth, E.L.I. 1893, The family of Blythe or Blyth of Norton and Birchet
  10. Watson, Garth (1988). The civils : the story of the Institution of Civil Engineers. London: Thomas Telford. p. 252. ISBN 0-7277-0392-7. OCLC 16866651.
  11. Royal Society of Edinburgh fellows list Archived 4 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  12. Edinburgh and Leith Post Office Directory 1905-6
  13. The Scotsman, various editions from 1911
  14. Death certificate, held by Scottish records office
  15. Blyth and Blyth: The First 100 Years, historical records held by company
  16. "Dictionary of Scottish Architects - DSA Architect Biography Report (May 26, 2019, 3:37 pm)". www.scottisharchitects.org.uk. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
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