Dorothy Donaldson Buchanan

Dorothy Donaldson Buchanan, married name Fleming (8 October 1899 in Dumfriesshire – 13 June 1985 in Somerset) was the first female member of the Institution of Civil Engineers, successfully passing the institution's admission examination in 1927.[1]

Early life and education

Buchanan was born at Langholm, the youngest of five children born to Marion Vassie and the Reverend James Donaldson Buchanan.[2] She was educated at Langholm Academy before earning a BS in civil engineering from Edinburgh University[3] in 1922. At Edinburgh, she studied with Charles Glover Barkla, who had been awarded a Nobel Prize in Physics in 1917.[4]

Career

Her first job was with consulting engineering firm Dorman Long where she served as part of the design staff for the Sydney Harbour Bridge. She later worked on the George V Bridge (now usually called the Tyne Bridge) in Newcastle and the Lambeth Bridge in London. She was also involved in the design of the Silent Valley Reservoir in Northern Ireland.[5]

Later life

Upon marriage in 1930 to William H. Dalrymple Fleming, a civil engineer, she retired from engineering.[1] As Dorothy Fleming, she pursued interests in rock climbing and painting. She died in 1985, at age 85.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 Catharine M. C. Haines, International women in science: a biographical dictionary to 1950.
  2. ↑ Nina Baker, "Buchanan, Dorothy Donaldson," in Elizabeth Ewan, Sue Innes, and Sian Reynolds, eds., The Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women (Edinburgh University Press 2007): 51.
  3. 1 2 Nina Baker, "Buchanan, Dorothy Donaldson," in Elizabeth Ewan, Sue Innes, and Sian Reynolds, eds., The Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women (Edinburgh University Press 2007): 52.
  4. ↑ A. Thomson, "School and Sun Out," News & Star (19 April 2007): http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/school-and-sun-out-1.197379?referrerPath=2.3249%5B%5D
  5. ↑ Trevor Turpin, Dam (Reaktion Books 2008): 94-95.
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