Theodore Graham-Gribble
Theodore Graham-Gribble (1851-1947)
1947 Obituary [1]
THEODORE GRAHAM-GRIBBLE, the oldest member of The Institution, son of the Rev. Charles Besly Gribble, Canon of Gibraltar and Chaplain to the British Embassy at Constantinople, was born in London on the 18th May, 1851, and died at Worthing on the 24th February, 1947.
He was educated at Heidelberg, Germany, and received his scientific training at Glasgow University and as an articled pupil with Messrs. R. B. Bell and D. Miller, MM.I.C.E., in Glasgow.
From 1876 to 1880 he had charge of railway construction on the Great Eastern Railway, including the line from Tottenham to the Alexandra Palace and the Parkestone quay, Harwich.
From 1881 to 1883 he was Resident Engineer on the Norwich branch of the Eastern and Midlands Railway (later the Midland and Great Northern Joint Line) and in the latter years he‘was appointed Resident Engineer on a section of the Canadian Pacific Railway, on the north shore of Lake Superior.
In 1885 he accepted an appointment with the Metropolitan Board of Works, London, under the late Sir Joseph Bazalgette, C.B., Past-President I.C.E.
From 1886 to 1890 he was Chief Engineer to the Hawaiian Railways and Tramways, and he then proceeded to the United States as Chief Engineer on the Detroit-Port Huron Railway Survey and later as Resident Engineer on the Elevated Railway of Chicago.
Returning to England in 1893, he was appointed Chief Assistant Engineer to the Midland and Great Northern Railways Joint Committee and was responsible, among other works, for the construction of the North Walsham and Mundesley branch line and the Lowestoft Junction line, including the Breydon viaduct.
In 1901 he started a private practice and carried out surveys in Java and Sumatra for the development of water-power.
In 1905 he introduced the trolley-bus into England and formed the Rail-less Electric Traction Company.
From 1909 to 1911 he was Chief Engineer of the General Electric Company of the Netherlands Indies, and was responsible for the hydro-electric installation at Semarang, Java, and for the electricity-supply to Soerabaya and other towns....[more]