Frederick Walter Simms

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Personal information
Frederick Walter Simms

Name	Frederick Walter Simms
Nationality	British
Birth date	December 24, 1803
Birth place	London
Date of death	February 27, 1865
Place of death	London
Children	Frederick M. B. Simms
Work
Institution memberships	Geological Society Institution of Civil Engineers Royal Astronomical Society

Frederick Walter Simms (December 24, 1803–February 27, 1865) was a British civil engineer.

Suffering from ill-health in his younger years (or "of delicate constitution" as his obituary put it), some difficulty was encountered in finding Simms suitable employment until via the influence of his brother he was despatched to Ireland as an assistant to the Ordnance Survey.

After leaving Ireland Simms became an astronomical assistant at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, under John Pond. He resigned his post on October 31, 1835, apparently having hoped to be awarded the post of First Assistant, for which he was "quite incompetent".^[1] He returned to his former occupation as a surveyor and civil engineer, visiting France with Richard Tappin Claridge, and later working with him on the introduction of asphalt to Britain.

In 1836 Simms joined the South Eastern Railway Company as a resident engineer and undertook a considerable number of works, including the construction of the Bletchingley and Saltwood tunnels.

In 1846 the East India Company, having decided to construct railways in their territories, proposed to Simms that he become their consulting engineer in India. His health suffered from the climate and he spend some time in Mauritius before returning to duty where, among other work, he supervised a complete survey of Calcutta which was princially carried out by local assistants.

Having completed his engagement with the East India Company Simms returned to England in 1851, his health very much affected by India's climate and thereafter lived in retirement.

[edit] Bibliography

(1837) A Treatise on the Principles and Practice of Levelling. London: J. Weale.
(1844) Practical Tunneling. London: Troughton and Simms.
(1844) A Treatise on the Principal Mathematical Instruments Employed in Surveying, Levelling and Astronomy. London: Troughton and Simms.