| Sir Douglas Strutt Galton | |
|---|---|
| Born | 2 July 1822 Hadzor House |
| Died | 18 March 1899 |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | Rugby School |
| Spouse | Mary Anne Nicholson of Waverley Abbey |
| Parents | Isabelle Strutt, the daughter of Joseph Strutt (philanthropist) & John Howard Galton of Hadzor House |
| Work | |
| Engineering discipline | Civil |
| Institution memberships | Institution of Civil Engineers (president), Royal Society of Edinburgh (Fellow) |
Sir Douglas Strutt Galton KCB, GCB, F.R.S., MStJ, Chevalier of the Légion d'Honneur, DCL, LLD (2 July 1822 – 18 March 1899) was a British engineer.
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His father was John Howard Galton of Hadzor House, Worcestershire, the son of Samuel "John" Galton. His mother was Isabelle Strutt, the daughter of Joseph Strutt (philanthropist) , mayor of Derby. He was a cousin of the scientist Francis Galton. Douglas was born in Spring Hill, near Birmingham. He was educated in Birmingham, in Geneva and at Rugby School under Thomas Arnold. He graduated with distinction from the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, and was commissioned second lieutenant in the Royal Engineers on 18 December 1840.
He became a captain in the Royal Engineers and Secretary to the Railway Department, Board of Trade. In 1866 he was a member of the Royal Commission on Railways. From 1869 to 1875 he was Directory of Public Works and Buildings.
In 1851 he married Marianne Nicholson of Waverley Abbey, who was Florence Nightingale's cousin. They had two daughters. The younger daughter Evelyne Isabella married Leonard D. Cunliffe, influential London financier, Governor of the Bank of England, President of the Hudson's Bay Company and one of the major investors in the Harrods department stores.[1]
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1859.[2]. He was made an officer of the Légion d'honneur and a knight of grace of the order of Knights of St John of Jerusalem in 1889. He also received the Turkish order of the Mejidiye. Oxford University made him an honorary DCL in 1875, and both Durham and Montreal universities made him an honorary LLD. He was a member of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, serving on their council from 1888 to 1890, and was vice-president of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. In 1891 he was chairman of the executive committee of the International Congress of Hygiene and Demography in London. In 1894 the Institution of Civil Engineers made him an honorary member. Galton was made a knight commander in the Order of the Bath, civil division at Queen Victoria's jubilee in 1887.