Lecture: A Quartet of Devon Engineers by Colin White

In this talk, Colin White will explore the lives and legacies of four remarkable scientist-engineers who were born, lived, and died in Devon: George Bidder (1806-1878), William Froude (1810-1879), Thomas Fowler (1777-1843) and John Lethbridge (1675-1759). Though largely unknown and under-appreciated, each made a lasting and significant contribution to their field. Spanning from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries—a period when scientific inquiry was often the preserve of the landed gentry or gentlemen of means—these individuals came from modest, even impoverished, backgrounds. At least two of them faced extreme hardship, achieving their breakthroughs without the benefit of wealth, privilege, or connections to the influential scientific circles of their time.

Colin worked for Standard Telephone and Cables in Paignton (ITT, Nortel) before joining Portsmouth University, where he lectured and researched microwaves, antennas and software engineering. He later transferred to the Sports Science Department, where he focused on computer modelling the aerodynamic properties of sport projectiles. Prior to retirement, as Principal Lecturer and Director of Learning, he was responsible for ensuring the quality of learning and teaching across the Faculty of Science. Colin has written and presented widely on the people and places of the Southwest that contributed to developments in science and technology.

This event is part of the Devon Rural Archive‘s 2026 lecture series. Please follow the signs to the Cafe and Archive upon arrival.

Image: Replica of John Lethbridge’s Diving Engine (Image by Colin White, courtesy Newton Abbot Museum)