| Authorised form of name | Donkin; Bryan (1768 - 1855) |
| Dates | 1768 - 1855 |
| Nationality | British |
| Place of birth | Fountain Hall, Sandoe, Northumberland, England |
| Date of birth | 22 March 1768 |
| Place of death | 6 The Paragon, New Kent Road, London |
| Date of death | 27 February 1855 |
| Occupation | Civil engineer |
| Research field | Astronomy |
| Activity | Career:
Assistant working on the estate of the Duke of Dorset, Knole Park, Sevenoaks; apprenticed, at the recommendation of John Smeaton (FRS 1753) to John Hall, Dartford (1775); involved in developing an improved machine for paper-making (1802); in charge of a works for producing such machinery, Spa Road, Bermondsey (1803); patented various inventions, including a steel pen; involved in founding the Institution of Civil Engineers (1818); Member, Committee of the Thames Tunnel Company (1824); built an observatory at his house, New Kent Road; retired (1846); his machines won a Gold Medal at the Great Exhibition (1851)
Memberships:
FRAS; MICE; FRSA (1803); Phrenological Society of Edinburgh
|
| Membership category | Fellow |
| Date of election | 18/01/1838 |
| Relationships | Son of John Donkin of Sandoe; married (1798) Mary Brame, daughter of Peter Brame, nurseryman |
| Sources | Sources:
Bulloch's Roll; DNB
Obituaries:
Proc Roy Soc 1854-1855 vol 7 pp 586-589
References:
Transactions of the Newcomen Society, vol 27 (1949-1951)
A brief account of Bryan Donkin, FRS and of the company he founded 150 years ago - The Bryan Donkin Company Limited, Chesterfield (The Bryan Donkin Company Limited, 1953)
RH Clapperton, The Paper-making machine: its invention, evolution and development (Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1967), pp 305-330 |
| Royal Society code | NA7570 |
Archives associated with this Fellow
| Reference number | Title | Date |
| DM/4/144 | Letter from Bryan Donkin to James Hudson, Assistant Secretary, Royal Society | 21 February 1831 |
| DM/4/142 | Copy of report from M I Brunel, Bryan Donkin and Field to Viscount Althrop | 15 February 1831 |
| IM/005723 | Donkin, Bryan | 1829 |
| NLB/6/892 | Copy letter from Theodore E James, to B Donkin | 11 August 1892 |
| NLB/10/920 | Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Mrs Bedford, 17 Ladbroke Terrace, W. | 8 March 1895 |
| NLB/10/776 | Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Bryan Donkin | 4 February 1895 |
| NLB/10/885 | Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Bryan Donkin care of Messrs Donkin & Company, Southwark Park Road, Bermondsey, S.E. | 26 February 1895 |
| NLB/10/868 | Copy letter from Dr Michael Foster, to Bryan Donkin, care of Messrs B Donkin & Company, Southwark Park Road, Bermondsey, S.E. | 23 February 1895 |
| EC/1838/01 | Donkin, Bryan: certificate of election to the Royal Society | |
| NLB/10/778 | Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Dr Michael Foster, Secretary, Royal Society | 4 February 1895 |