January 28, 1909] 



NA TURE 



n: 



From 1874 to 1S76 Dr. Elgar occupied an important 

 position as general manager of Earle's Shipbuilding 

 Company, at Hull; and from 1876 to 1879 practised 

 in London as a consulting naval architect in conjunc- 

 tion with Sir Edward Reed. 



A close connection with the Japanese Government, 

 for whom Sir Edward Reed had designed several 

 warships, led to the appointment of Elgar, in 1879, to 

 be their special adviser upon naval construction. He 

 proceeded to Japan, and remained there for about two 

 years, dealing with Important questions relating to 

 dockyard organisation and shipbuilding programmes. 

 This'appointment indicated the high reputation Elgar 

 had already achieved. On his return from this period 

 of foreign residence, Elgar practised as a consulting 

 naval architect in London, and continued to act in 

 that capacity until 18S6. For the most part his work 

 was of a private character, but it included service 

 as the confidential adviser of leading steamship com- 

 panies, and was marked by public appearances in 

 connection with special investigations into the causes 

 of accidents to, or the loss of, important vessels. 

 When the Orient liner Austral foundered in Sydney 

 Harbour, Elgar investigated the matter, and demon- 

 strated that the accident was due to a lack of proper 

 precaution during the process of coaling the ship. 

 \\'!ien the Daphne capsized while being launched on 

 the Clvde, Elgar exhaustively investigated the cir- 

 cumst;inces, and gave a rational explanation of the 

 disaster. He also served as a member of the Special 

 Committee appointed by the Board of Trade in 1883 

 — with Sir Edward Reed as chairman — to propose 

 rules for ii.xing the load-line of merchant vessels. The 

 work done by this committee included the considera- 

 tion of the strength and stability of many types of 

 ships, furnished a settlement of a most difficult ques- 

 tion, is still bearing fruit, and promises to lead to an 

 international agreement. 



During this period of his career, Elgar w-as ap- 

 pointed the first university professor of naval archi- 

 tecture in Great Britain. This chair was established 

 at Glasgow (in 1883) by the munificence of Mrs. John 

 Elder, and the selection of Elgar to fill it gave uni- 

 versal satisfaction, and afforded fresh evidence of his 

 high professional reputation. The inaugural address 

 which he delivered at the commencement of his work 

 not merely attracted a large and representative audi- 

 ence, but was in itself a most excellent performance. 

 The period during which Elgar served as a teacher of 

 naval architecture was comparatively brief, for early 

 in 1SS6 the Admiralty created the new post of director 

 of dockyards, and sought out a man to fill it who 

 should combine experience in private yards with an 

 intimate knowledge of warship-building. Elgar was 

 selected, and accepted the great responsibility of 

 making proposals for reorganisation of the dockvards 

 and giving practical effect thereto, with the view of 

 increased economy and rapidity in the work of con- 

 struction and repair of the ships of the Royal Navy. 

 This was no light task ; it was well performed, and 

 voluntarily terminated in 1892, when Elgar accepted 

 an invitation to become a director and consulting 

 naval architect to the Fairfield Shipbuilding and En- 

 gineering Company, of Glasgow. This business had 

 been first established by John Elder and others, had 

 been greatly developed by Sir William Pearce, and 

 after his death was in need of a capable and thor- 

 oughly trained professional head. The connection 

 which thus began was terminated by his own choice 

 about two years ago, with the intention to obtain and 

 enjoy a well-earned leisure. From this retirement, 

 however, he soon emerged in order to undertake the 

 chairmanship of the great industrial enterprises be- 

 longing to Cammell, Laird and Co., including steel 

 works, armour-plate factories, shipbuilding and 

 NO. 2048, VOL. 79] 



marine engineering departments, and mining opera- 

 tions. Immediately after accepting- this position it 

 was associated with that of chairman of the Fairfield 

 Shipbuilding Company. When Elgar assumed these 

 responsibilities, a radical reorganisation had to be 

 undertaken in the establishments and staffs of Cam- 

 mell, Laird and Co. In carrying out this heavy and 

 delicate task, Elgar gave remarkable proofs of ability 

 and energy, and necessarih' made demands upon his 

 strength which may have tended to bring about the 

 unexpected and sudden death so widely mourned. He 

 had taken a holiday on the Riviera at the close of the 

 year; a slight accident occurred, but there was no 

 thought of consequent danger, and the end came 

 suddenly. 



Elgar united practical experience with a wide 

 knowledge of science and strong literary tastes. His 

 papers on professional subjects — most of which are 

 published in the Transactions of the Royal- Societv, 

 and in tliose of the Institution of Naval Architects — 

 furnish illustrations of these qualities, and contain 

 much original work. About two years ago Elgar 

 undertook the delivery of the Forrest lecture at the 

 Institution of Civil Engineers, and dealt with " L"n- 

 solved Problems in Naval Architecture " in a manner 

 which excited admiration amongst those familiar with 

 ship design, while it proved interesting to engineers 

 generally. He was elected F.R.S. in 1895, and some 

 years previously had become F.R.S.E. The L^niversity 

 of Glasgow gave him the honorary degree of LL.D. 

 in 1885. His closest connection was naturally with 

 the Institution of Naval Architects, on the council of 

 which he had served for twenty-five years, and of 

 which he was treasurer and honorary vice-president 

 at the time of his death. He was a member of council 

 of both the Institution of Civil Engineers and the 

 Royal Society of Arts, in the affairs of which he took an 

 active interest. He was also a member of many 

 engineering and scientific societies at home and 

 abroad. The council of the Institution of Naval 

 .Architects chose him to act as their representative on 

 the governing body of the Imperial College of Science 

 and Technology, on the committee of the National 

 Physical Laboratory, and on the Advisorv Committee 

 on Shipping established recently by the Board of Trade. 



Elgar did good work in connection with the 

 British commissions for international exhibitions at 

 Chicago, Paris, and elsewhere, and his services were 

 recognised by his appointment as Chevalier of the 

 Legion of Honour. His last work in this department 

 was done for the Franco-British Exhibition, where 

 he served as chairman of the shipbuilding section, and 

 organised one of the most remarkable collections of 

 ship-models ever brought together. Busilv engaged 

 as he always was, Elgar had little opportunity for 

 extensive literary work. In 1873 he produced an 

 interesting and beautifully illustrated book on " The 

 Ships of the Navy," and in various papers — some of 

 which were contributed to the " Sette of Odd 

 Volumes " — he displayed an intimate knowledge of 

 the earlier history of shipbuilding. He was intimately 

 concerned also with the production of the review. 

 Naval Science, founded by Sir Edward Reed in 

 1872, and continued until 1S75. Elgar was a man 

 whose interests were wide and varied; his personal 

 qualities secured for him a multitude of friends who 

 mourn his loss ; but, above all, he will be remembered 

 as a brilliant example of the modern naval architect 

 in whose work were embodied the results of thorough 

 training in both the science and practice of his pro- 

 fession, which training was supplemented by ripe and 

 varied experience, and bore fruit in original investi- 

 gation, the solution of novel and difficult problems, 

 and valuable contributions to the development of a 

 great British industry. VV. H. White. 



