William Arnot
William Arnot (1854-1925)
1925 Obituary [1]
The death took place in a nursing home in Glasgow on Wednesday, June 24th, of Mr William Arnot, one of the pioneers of electrical lighting in Glasgow. When the post of electrical engineer was instituted in Glasgow in 1890, Mr. Arnot applied for and received the appointment. He was responsible for the employment of electricity for street lighting, and on the growth of the demand for the new form of illumination he advised the laving down of power stations at St. Andrew's Cross and at Port-Dundas.
Prior to the completion of the stations, however. Mr. Arnot retired from the service of the Corporation. In 1898 he took up private business and continued to practice until the time of his death.
1926 Obituary [2]
WILLIAM ARNOT was born in Glasgow on 20th November 1854, and was educated at the Hamilton Academy.
In 1880 he came to London and gained experience with the London Electric Supply Corporation, the India Rubber, Gutta Percha, and Telegraph Works, Ltd., and other firms.
In 1892 he was appointed first engineer to the Electricity Department of the Glasgow Corporation, a position he held for about four years, during which he superintended the erection of the Waterloo Street Generating Station. In order to meet the increasing demands for electricity in the district, he initiated and carried out the policy whereby two large sites for new generating stations were acquired, namely at Port Dundas and at St. Andrew's Cross.
Mr. Arnot resigned his position as Chief Electrical Engineer to the Glasgow Corporation in 1897, and commenced a consulting practice; for the Govan Corporation he designed and equipped a complete electrical installation (capacity 4,000 kw.); he also carried out a large number of private installations throughout the kingdom and was retained as adviser by several corporations. In the electrical supply industry he was one of the pioneers, and foresaw the main lines upon which that industry has developed. His death occurred in Glasgow on 24th June 1925.
He became a Member of this Institution in 1894.
He was also a Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers and Institution of Electrical Engineers.
1925 Obituary [3]
WILLIAM ARNOT was born in Glasgow in 1854 and was educated at Hamilton Academy.
He began his career as an engineer in 1880 when he came to London.
From 1880 to 1892 he was in the employment of various companies, including the London Electric Supply Corporation and the India Rubber, Gutta Percha and Telegraph Works Co., Ltd., at Silvertown. In 1892 he was appointed the first engineer to the Electricity Department of the Glasgow Corporation, and he held that post until 1896. During this period the Electricity Department was under the control of a Sub-Committee of the Gas Department. The generating station at Waterloo-street, Glasgow, was designed and equipped by Sir Alexander Kennedy, under the superintendence of Mr. Arnot.
As the demand for electricity continued to grow Mr. Arnot initiated and carried to fruition the policy whereby two large sites were acquired for new generating stations, one at Port Dundas on the north side of the River Clyde, and the other at St. Andrew's Cross on the south side of the river. Port Dundas station ultimately contained 38 000 kW of plant, and St. Andrew's Cross station 22 000 kW of plant. These two stations were gradually developed until they could accommodate no more plant, but they sufficed to meet the Glasgow demand until 1912, when the site of the Dalmarnock power station was acquired.
Mr. Arnot resigned his post as chief electrical engineer to the Glasgow Corporation in 1897, when he commenced business as a consulting engineer in Glasgow. He acted as consulting engineer to the Govan Corporation, for whom he designed and equipped a complete undertaking, including a generating station with a plant capacity of 4 000 kW, and all the underground mains and cables.
He also carried out a large number of private installations throughout England and Scotland, including Dunrobin Castle and Quarrier's Homes, Bridge of Weir, and his services were retained by the Town Councils of Wick, Lerwick, Brora and other towns in the north of Scotland. He also acted as consulting engineer in this country for the Rand Water Board, and carried out a large amount of inspection work for them both in Britain and on the Continent.
Mr. Arnot was one of the pioneers in connection with the electricity supply industry, and foresaw the main features of the development of the industry which have taken place. He was a man of even temper, and of a quiet and retiring disposition, and he retained throughout his life the confidence and esteem not only of his large clientele but of his wide circle of friends in the industry.
He died in Glasgow on the 25th June, 1925.
He was elected a Member of the Institution in 1891.