James Jardine (engineer)

James Jardine FRSE FSAScot (13 November 1776–20 June 1858) was a Scottish civil engineer, mathematician and geologist.

He was a friend of Thomas Telford and they collaborated on several projects[1] Following survey work at the Firth of Tay, he was the first person in the world to calculate mean sea level.

He built an 8.5-mile (13.7 km) pipeline from the Crawley springs, completed in 1823, which provided Edinburgh's first reliable supply of drinking water from outside the city.

He was also involved at the start of construction of two more reservoirs for the Edinburgh Water Company, at Threipmuir and Harlaw, but they were completed by James Leslie in 1847 and 1848, as he retired in 1846.

He worked on several projects with Thomas Telford, including provision of mathematical calculations to establish the required chain strength to hold the Menai Straits suspension bridge.

[7] He died at home, 18 Queen Street, a ground floor and basement, main-door flat at one of the most prestigious addresses in Edinburgh.