Sir Dugald Clerk, 1854 - 1932

By the death of Sir Dugald Clerk at the age of 79, the Royal Society has lost one of its greatest engineers. He was one of those rare individuals who combined scientific theory with direct practical experience and that in equal measure. Clerk was born in Glasgow a little before the invention of the internal combustion engine, to which he soon became deeply attached. During the whole of his career, Clerk devoted himself to this new development which he fostered with sympathy, understanding, and with a firm confidence in its future. The vast modern development of road and air transport made possible by the internal combustion engine, we owe directly or indirectly to Sir Dugald Clerk. He, beyond anyone else, is responsible for its development; directly by the work of his own hands and indirectly by his teaching to his innumerable disciples all the world over, all of whom derive the greater part of their knowledge and inspiration from his work.