James Henry Greathead

James Henry Greathead ( born August 6 1844 in Grahamstown, South Africa, † October 21, 1896 in Streatham, London ) was a civil engineer, who was instrumental in the development of the tunnel boring machine.

Life

1859 Greathead went to Britain in 1864 he began the bridge builder Peter W. Barlow and around 1867 he became an assistant to the Midland Railway, where he worked with William Henry Barlow. In 1869 he rejoined Barlow, where he worked on the design for the Tower Subway. For this he improved with Peter W. Barlow, developed in 1818 by Marc Isambard Brunel tunneling shield for the shield tunneling and designed his own tunnel boring machine.

He was also a consultant in the construction of the Blackwall Tunnel. Later he was chief engineer at the City and South London Railway. Shortly before his death he was involved with Sir Benjamin Baker in the planning and construction of the Central London Railway.