Richard Birdsall Rogers
Encyclopedia
Richard Birdsall Rogers (15 January 1857 – 2 October 1927) was a Canadian
civil
and mechanical engineer whose most significant achievement was the design of the Peterborough Lift Lock
, a boat lift
at Peterborough, Ontario
, Canada
.
From 1874 to 1878, he studied at McGill College
, Montreal
, graduating with a degree in civil and mechanical engineering. In 1879 he was appointed a Provincial Land Surveyor and in 1880 he became Dominion Land Surveyor, a position he retained until 1884 when he entered private practice, taking up the post of Superintending Engineer of the Trent Canal.
In this role, Rogers suggested the use of hydraulic lift locks to the Minister of Railways and Canals, John Haggart, who commissioned him to travel to Europe to study existing boat lifts in France
(the Ascenseur à bateaux des Fontinettes), Belgium
(Lifts on the old Canal du Centre
) and England
(the Anderton Boat Lift
near Northwich
in Cheshire
).
Rogers was the grandson of a noted Provincial Land Surveyor, Richard Birdsall
who had surveyed most of the lands in the Peterborough area.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
civil
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
and mechanical engineer whose most significant achievement was the design of the Peterborough Lift Lock
Peterborough Lift Lock
The Peterborough Lift Lock is a boat lift located on the Trent Canal in the city of Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, and is Lock 21 on the Trent-Severn Waterway....
, a boat lift
Boat lift
A boat lift, ship lift, or lift lock is a machine for transporting boats between water at two different elevations, and is an alternative to the canal lock and the canal inclined plane....
at Peterborough, Ontario
Peterborough, Ontario
Peterborough is a city on the Otonabee River in southern Ontario, Canada, 125 kilometres northeast of Toronto. The population of the City of Peterborough was 74,898 as of the 2006 census, while the census metropolitan area has a population of 121,428 as of a 2009 estimate. It presently ranks...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
From 1874 to 1878, he studied at McGill College
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
, Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, graduating with a degree in civil and mechanical engineering. In 1879 he was appointed a Provincial Land Surveyor and in 1880 he became Dominion Land Surveyor, a position he retained until 1884 when he entered private practice, taking up the post of Superintending Engineer of the Trent Canal.
In this role, Rogers suggested the use of hydraulic lift locks to the Minister of Railways and Canals, John Haggart, who commissioned him to travel to Europe to study existing boat lifts in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
(the Ascenseur à bateaux des Fontinettes), Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
(Lifts on the old Canal du Centre
Lifts on the old Canal du Centre
The lifts on the old Canal du Centre are a series of four hydraulic boat lifts near the town of La Louvière in the Sillon industriel of Wallonia, classified both as Wallonia's Major Heritage and as a World Heritage Site . Along a particular stretch of the Canal du Centre, which connects the river...
) and England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
(the Anderton Boat Lift
Anderton Boat Lift
The Anderton Boat Lift near the village of Anderton, Cheshire, in north-west England provides a vertical link between two navigable waterways: the River Weaver and the Trent and Mersey Canal....
near Northwich
Northwich
Northwich is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It lies in the heart of the Cheshire Plain, at the confluence of the rivers Weaver and Dane...
in Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
).
Rogers was the grandson of a noted Provincial Land Surveyor, Richard Birdsall
Richard Birdsall
Richard Birdsall was an English-born immigrant to Upper Canada who became a surveyor in Canada.Birdsall surveyed many townships in Upper Canada and eventually made his home in one of them; Peterborough County...
who had surveyed most of the lands in the Peterborough area.