John Aird (engineer)

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Sir John Aird, 1st Baronet (3 December 1833 - 6 January 1911) was a notable English civil engineering contractor of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He also served as Conservative MP for Paddington North from 1887 to 1906, was the first Mayor of Paddington in 1900, and became an enthusiastic collector of British art.

Aird was the son of a former mason - also called John Aird (1806-1876) - who was superintendent of the Phoenix Gas Company's gasworks in Greenwich, south-east London before setting up his own contracting business, John Aird & Co, in the late 1840s. On his 18th birthday in 1851, Aird junior joined the family firm – which subsequently traded as John Aird & Sons for a while. The business had initially focused on gas and water network installations, but soon expanded into more general building work. Its first significant scheme was the dismantling, transportation and re-erection of The Crystal Palace buildings from the 1851 Great Exhibition from central London's Hyde Park to Sydenham in south London.

Other company projects included the construction of reservoirs at Hampton and Staines in Middlesex, the Beckton plant of the Gas Light and Coke Company, and Brighton's sewerage system. Overseas projects included waterworks in Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Berlin, and gasworks in Copenhagen and Moscow. In joint venture with other contractors, Aird & Sons constructed the Calcutta waterworks and the Millwall Dock on the Isle of Dogs in London.

Aird became an associate of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1859.

In 1874, the firm merged with another successful contractor (Lucas Bros, run by Charles Lucas - responsible for the construction of the Royal Albert Hall) and was renamed Lucas & Aird. Two years later, following his father's death, John Aird junior became chief partner, and reverted to the John Aird & Co name in 1895.

During this period, the business undertook a considerable amount of railways and docks work. Projects included stretches of the Metropolitan and District Lines in London, the Royal Albert Dock, Tilbury Docks, East and West India Docks extension, Millom harbour in Cumbria, and the West Highland railway line. Overseas, the firm built the Suakin to Berber railway in Sudan. Following the death of the previous contractor (Thomas Walker), Aird's firm also completed the Manchester Ship Canal.

Under Aird's leadership, the firm also became internationally famous for building the first Aswan Dam (1898-1902; the business was also later engaged to increase the height of the dam). Other schemes included the Royal Edward Dock at Avonmouth (1902-1908), and dock works in Singapore.

Aird was created a baronet on Lord Salisbury's recommendation on 5 March 1901. He died in January 1911 at his country home of Wilton Park in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire and he was buried at nearby Littleworth.

Preceded by: Lionel Cohen

Member of Parliament for Paddington North 1887-1906

Succeeded by: Leo Chiozza Money