William Tierney Clark

William Tierney Clark ( born August 23, 1783 in Bristol, † September 22, 1852 in Hammersmith, London, United Kingdom) was an English bridge engineer who earned recognition through his chain bridges, and was made famous by the Széchenyi Chain Bridge in Budapest.

Life and achievements

William Tierney Clark, whose father had died early, found after an apprenticeship as a mechanical engineer employment in the Coalbrookdale Iron Works, the links established by the family of Abraham Darby ironworks that after the construction of the Iron Bridge, among others, the production of components for the bridges of Thomas Telford were involved. The acquired there knowledge in the production of cast iron and wrought iron led him in 1808 to a company in London and, on the recommendation of John Rennie, 1811 at the West Middlesex Water Works. He increased their performance significantly, reservoir and installed a water line under the Thames through Hammersmith. With the consent of his employer, he took a job as a freelance engineer, first the construction of the Thames and Medway Canal. In 1924, he began planning the Hammersmith Bridge, which was completed in 1827. Between 1829 and 1832 he built the Marlow Bridge over the Thames and then the Norfolk Bridge, a suspension bridge in Shoreham- by-Sea, which was replaced in 1923.

Clark's most important work was built from 1839 to 1849 Széchenyi Chain Bridge over the Danube, with the then independent cities of Buda and Pest were joined. In recognition of his service to him, Emperor Franz Joseph I hand over an ornamented with diamonds gold snuffbox.

In 1845 he created also the plans for a suspension bridge across the Neva, which Tsar Nicholas I recognized with a gold medal.

Clark was in 1823 a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE ), and in 1837 a member of the Royal Society.

Writings

• An account, with illustrations, of the Suspension Bridge across the River Danube. John Weale, London 1852-53. Digitized on Google Books