William K. Whytehead
William K. Whytehead (1825-1865)
1851 Engineer of 69 Cornhill, London
1865 July 13th. Died.
1866 Obituary [1]
William H. Keld Whytehead was boom in London in 1825; and after serving his apprenticeship to Messrs. J. and A. Blyth of Limehouse, he was for some years the editor of the "Artizan".
In 1854 he was appointed engineer-in-chief to the Government of Paraguay, and continued to occupy that post up to the time of his death. The arsenal at Assumption, the capital of Paraguay, was organised by him; and with the assistance of a staff of English workmen and English tools he executed many other important works, and kept in efficient order a considerable fleet of steam vessels. His services were highly valued by the Government of Paraguay, but his health having been for nearly three years in a weak state, the additional labour and anxiety thrown upon him, in consequence of the war between Paraguay and Brazil, proved too much for his strength, and he died at Assumption on the 13th July 1865 at the age of forty.
He was elected a Member of the Institution in 1852.