Sir William Fairbairn

Sir William Fairbairn was a civil engineer of international repute. Born in Kelso in 1789, he was a pioneer in the use of iron in bridge construction. Working with Robert Stephenson he designed two tubular railway bridges in Wales - Britannia Bridge, spanning the Menai Strait, and Conwy Bridge. This type of box and plate girder, rivetted, construction became accepted worldwide. He was knighted in 1869 and died in 1874.