This list is from the UK, so it would be interesting if other nationalities can recall in what sphere these men were involved. You may also want to extend the list by adding other great Engineers from your own locations. This list is on the international so you can all send in your own vote for these past achievers.
As engineers, we always bang on about how undervalued we are. Thus when a UK Survey asked the public to name an engineer, a few years back, nobody was really surprised when the most popular answer was "the car mechanic in Coronation Street".
But hang on a minute. Whilst it's true that today's engineers only tend to become well-known if they become successful businessmen too, we shouldn't confuse that with the respect in which the general public holds engineers of the past.
The BBC is currently running an exercise where we can all vote for "the greatest Briton of all time", and the Top 100 was revealed this week.
Apart from one or two silly inclusions (mainly from the world of pop music) and a few historically baffling ones (so what did King Richard III do for us, exactly?), the public has come up with a balanced, intelligent and intriguing list.
And guess what? Probably the biggest single grouping in the top 100 is engineers, scientists and mathematicians, beating politicians and even monarchs. The list includes Sir Alexander Fleming (number 20), Alan Turing (21), Michael Faraday (22), Stephen Hawking (25), John Harrison (39), Frank Whittle (42), John Logie Baird (44), Alexander Graham Bell (54), George Stephenson (65), Charles Babbage (80), James Watt (84), James Clerk Maxwell (91), Barnes Wallis (95) and Tim Berners-Lee (99). Highest of all come Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin and Isambard Kingdom Brunel, whose places are still to be decided. That's because the next stage of the BBC's exercise is for the "top ten" to move on to a second and final round of voting. And Brunel, Darwin and Newton are right in there, up against Churchill, Shakespeare, Diana Princess of Wales, Elizabeth I, John Lennon, Cromwell and Nelson.
BBC TV is allowing well-known figures to present the cases for each of the top ten "Great Britons", and after this week's impassioned hour-long plea for Brunel by Jeremy Clarkson, it's wonderful to see the great man (Brunel, not Clarkson) currently topping the list. But there's a long way to go, so get along to the BBC website and cast your vote. The Clifton Suspension Bridge, the Great Western Railway, the SS Great Britain ...need I say more?
As engineers, we always bang on about how undervalued we are. Thus when a UK Survey asked the public to name an engineer, a few years back, nobody was really surprised when the most popular answer was "the car mechanic in Coronation Street".
But hang on a minute. Whilst it's true that today's engineers only tend to become well-known if they become successful businessmen too, we shouldn't confuse that with the respect in which the general public holds engineers of the past.
The BBC is currently running an exercise where we can all vote for "the greatest Briton of all time", and the Top 100 was revealed this week.
Apart from one or two silly inclusions (mainly from the world of pop music) and a few historically baffling ones (so what did King Richard III do for us, exactly?), the public has come up with a balanced, intelligent and intriguing list.
And guess what? Probably the biggest single grouping in the top 100 is engineers, scientists and mathematicians, beating politicians and even monarchs. The list includes Sir Alexander Fleming (number 20), Alan Turing (21), Michael Faraday (22), Stephen Hawking (25), John Harrison (39), Frank Whittle (42), John Logie Baird (44), Alexander Graham Bell (54), George Stephenson (65), Charles Babbage (80), James Watt (84), James Clerk Maxwell (91), Barnes Wallis (95) and Tim Berners-Lee (99). Highest of all come Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin and Isambard Kingdom Brunel, whose places are still to be decided. That's because the next stage of the BBC's exercise is for the "top ten" to move on to a second and final round of voting. And Brunel, Darwin and Newton are right in there, up against Churchill, Shakespeare, Diana Princess of Wales, Elizabeth I, John Lennon, Cromwell and Nelson.
BBC TV is allowing well-known figures to present the cases for each of the top ten "Great Britons", and after this week's impassioned hour-long plea for Brunel by Jeremy Clarkson, it's wonderful to see the great man (Brunel, not Clarkson) currently topping the list. But there's a long way to go, so get along to the BBC website and cast your vote. The Clifton Suspension Bridge, the Great Western Railway, the SS Great Britain ...need I say more?
