John Farey ( 1791 - 1851 )

Birth: Lambeth, Surrey, England (20 March 1791) Death: The Common, Sevenoaks, Kent (17 July 1851) Profession: Civil engineer Education: Woburn Career: Made drawings for scientific works (from the age of 14); invented an intsrument for making perspective drawings (1807); made a machine for drawing ellipses (1813); went to Russia (1819) where he constructed ironworks and saw a steam-engine indicator for the first time; returned to England and employed McNaught to construct indicators for general use; turned over his professional commitments to his brother and started a lace manufactory in Devonshire (1821) which he gave up (1823); engineer to Messrs Marshall's flax-mills, Leeds (1825), but gave this up when his brother's deteriorating health necessitated his return to London (1826); consulting engineer; his house burnt down, destroying many of his books and papers (1850); died of heart disease Memberships: MICE (1826) Membership: Candidate.