Daniel Adamson

Daniel Adamson (30 April 1820 – 13 January 1890) was an English engineer who became a successful manufacturer of boilers and was the driving force behind the inception of the Manchester Ship Canal project during the 1880s.

He was the 13th of 15 children – seven boys and eight girls – born to Daniel Adamson, landlord of the Grey Horse public house in Shildon, and his wife, Ann.

Adamson was able to experiment with the newfound wealth from the worldwide export of these boilers which incorporated ring joints in the form of his patented Anti-Collapsive Flange Seam.

Between 1885 and 1888, Daniel Adamson and Co. supplied four narrow gauge steam locomotives to the Oakeley Quarry in Blaenau Ffestiniog, North Wales.

He arranged a meeting in Didsbury at his home, The Towers, on 27 June 1882, attended by 68 people including the mayors of Manchester and surrounding towns, leaders of commerce and industry, banker and financiers.

[4] Adamson was elected chairman of the provisional committee promoting the ship canal, and was at the forefront in pushing the scheme through Parliament in the face of intense opposition from railway companies and port interests in Liverpool.

There are blue plaques at The Towers (today the Shirley Institute), Wilmslow Road in Didsbury, and in Adamson Street, Dukinfield.