Surgeon To Engineer
Clark opened a practice in Bristol but by the mid 1830s was in the employ of Isembard Kingdom Brunel as an engineer on the construction of the Great Western and Taff Vale Railways. His position was a senior one with overall responsibility for some stretches of the line and for civil structures. Involvement in major earth-moving works seems to have fed his interest in geology and archaeology and he, anonymously, authored two guidebooks on the railway, in addition to a critique of Brunel's methods.
Sometime in 1835, Clark made the acquaintance of John Josiah Guest, Taff Vale promoter and proprietor of the massive Dowlais Ironworks, and his family, by 1838 becoming a confidant. It was to prove a pivotal meeting, but not until Clark's return from India.
Read more about this topic: G. T. Clark
Famous quotes containing the words surgeon to, surgeon and/or engineer:
“Will you tell me my fault, frankly as to yourself, for I had rather wince, than die. Men do not call the surgeon to commend the bone, but to set it, Sir.”
—Emily Dickinson (1830–1886)
“McCoy: That shark’s been following us ever since the surgeon died, waiting for the burial. Couldn’t I have a musket to shoot it, sir?
Fletcher Christian: Take the deck, McCoy. I’ll get the keys to the arms chest.
McCoy: Get two muskets, sir. I’d like to shoot that shark on board.”
—Talbot Jennings (1896–1985)
“A good scientist is a person with original ideas. A good engineer is a person who makes a design that works with as few original ideas as possible. There are no prima donnas in engineering.”
—Freeman Dyson (b. 1923)