William Dyce Cay

William Dyce Cay, MICE FRSE (28 March 1838 – 13 December 1925) was a Scottish civil engineer. He was responsible for the majority of late 19th century works to Aberdeen harbour.[1] He was described by his cousin, James Clerk Maxwell, as a "watery engineer".[2]

William Dyce Cay
Born28 March 1838
Edinburgh, Scotland
Died13 December 1925
Folkestone, England
OccupationScottish civil engineer

Life

He was born the son of Robert Dundas Cay, an Edinburgh lawyer, and Isabella Dyce (1811–1852).

In 1844 the family moved to Hong Kong following his father's appointment as Registrar to the Supreme Court of that city. His mother died there as the result of injuries from a carriage accident in 1852 and is buried in the Happy Valley Cemetery in Victoria, Hong Kong.[3]

William returned to Edinburgh soon after this, to study mathematics at Edinburgh University, winning the prestigious Straiton Gold Medal in 1856.[4] He then moved to Belfast to serve as an apprentice engineer under Lord Kelvin's brother, James Thomson. On completion of his training in 1858 he began to specialise in harbour design, and spent the bulk of his working life improving Aberdeen's docks and harbours.[5] From 1873 he was assisted by James Barron who later set up as an independent harbour engineer.[6]

He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1882. In 1890 he obtained a house on Blackford Road in Edinburgh.

He died at Folkestone, Kent on 13 December 1925.

Known works
The entrance to the harbour at Buckie
Lerwick Harbour

Family

His uncles (his mother's brothers) were William Dyce the artist and Professor Robert Dyce.

His cousin (through his father's sister) was James Clerk Maxwell. They were close friends and Cay served as Maxwell's best man upon his marriage.[3]

References
  1. C. D. Waterston and A. Macmillan Shearer (29 June 2006). "Former Fellows of The Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783 – 2002" (PDF). Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  2. Maxwell, J. C.; Harman, P. M. (2002). The Scientific Letters and Papers of James Clerk Maxwell. Cambridge University Press. p. 70. ISBN 9780521256278. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  3. "Dictionary of Scottish Architects – DSA Architect Biography Report (September 25, 2015, 10:42 pm)". scottisharchitects.org.uk. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  4. "William Dyce Cay: Overview of William Dyce Cay". scottish-places.info. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  5. "Engineering Timelines – explore ... where". engineering-timelines.com. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  6. "James Barron". Dictionary of Scottish Architects. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  7. "Visit by Panel for Historic Engineering Works | Glenlair". glenlair.org.uk. Retrieved 25 September 2015.


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