John Augustus Lloyd facts for kids
John Augustus Lloyd (born 1800, died 1854) was an English engineer and surveyor. He helped explore the idea of building a Panama Canal. He also worked on many projects in the Indian Ocean.
Early Life and Adventures
John Augustus Lloyd was born in London on May 1, 1800. He was the youngest son of John Lloyd from King's Lynn, Norfolk. He went to private schools and learned about science. When he visited Derbyshire, he even surveyed mines in Wirksworth.
After the Napoleonic Wars ended, John couldn't join the army as he had wanted. Instead, he went to live with his older brother on the island of Tortola. His brother was a legal advisor there. John spent his time learning languages and surveying the land.
With help from Sir Robert Ker Porter, John met Simon Bolivar, a famous leader in South America. Bolivar hired John as a captain of engineers, and he quickly became a lieutenant-colonel. In November 1827, Bolivar asked him to survey the Isthmus of Panama. This was to see if it was possible to connect the Atlantic and Pacific oceans with a canal. John was seriously hurt during some trouble in Cartagena.
Despite tough conditions, John finished his Panama survey. He suggested building a road along the path that was later used for the Panama Canal Railway.
Work Around the World
After returning to England, John Lloyd became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1830. This is a very important group for scientists. In 1831, he moved to Mauritius, an island in the Indian Ocean. There, he became the main engineer and surveyor for the government. He arrived in Port Louis on August 31, 1831, and soon climbed Mount Pieter Botte.
For over 20 years in Mauritius, he built many public works. He also created a new map of Madagascar. He left Mauritius on April 4, 1849, and traveled back to Europe through Ceylon. He then journeyed through Norway and Poland. He was briefly held by Russian officials in Cracow. After being released, he visited the Carpathians mountains, Vienna, Tyrol, and France.
John Lloyd also joined the Institution of Civil Engineers, a group for professional engineers. He even served on its council. In 1851, he helped organize the Great Exhibition in London. This was a huge show of new inventions and products from around the world. He worked as a special commissioner for industrial products.
Later, John was sent to Bolivia as a British diplomat in late 1851. He arrived in Sucre. At that time, Manuel Isidoro Belzu was in charge of Bolivia. John and Belzu had disagreements. John wrote to Sir Fairfax Moresby about the government's dishonesty. He traveled to Tacna in Peru to ask for naval support. Back then, Bolivia had a port called Cobija, which is now in Chile. The British Foreign Office decided not to go ahead with a proposed blockade.
When the Crimean war with Russia began, John Lloyd went on a mission. He wanted to encourage the Circassians people to support England. He stayed in the Crimea after the battle of the Alma to gather information. Sadly, he died from cholera in Therapia on October 10, 1854, at the age of 54.
Achievements and Inventions
John Lloyd published many important surveys, reports, and maps. His report on the Panama survey appeared in a scientific journal called Philosophical Transactions in 1830. He also shared more information in the Journal of the Royal Geographical Society.
For the Board of Admiralty and the Royal Society, he measured the difference in water level in the River Thames. This was between London Bridge and the sea. His report on this was published in Philosophical Transactions in 1831. His map of Madagascar, along with a detailed description, was published in the Journal of the Royal Geographical Society. He also made many drawings of Madagascar and maps, mostly of South America.
John Lloyd received a Telford medal from the Institute of Civil Engineers. He earned it for a paper he wrote in 1849. This paper was about how easy it would be to build a ship canal between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. He believed that "There was nothing but the climate and the expense to prevent a canal being cut from one sea to the other of sufficient depth to float the largest ship in her majesty's navy."
Besides his big role in organizing the Great Exhibition in 1851, he also won a Prize Medal himself. He invented an instrument called the 'typhodeictor'. This tool could figure out the direction and location of a storm or hurricane.
John Lloyd wrote more papers about Mauritius, South America, and mining. A book called Papers relating to Proposals for establishing Colleges of Arts and Manufactures for the Industrial Classes was printed in 1851. It was made for private sharing.
Family Life
John Lloyd left behind his wife, Fanny Drummond MacGregor. She was the oldest daughter of Malcolm MacGregor, who was the British Counsel in Panama. John and Fanny met in Panama when John was surveying the canal route for Simon Bolivar. They got married in St. Cuthbert's Cathedral in Edinburgh on December 8, 1829. This was during his trip back to Britain before he left for Mauritius in 1831. They had two sons who became officers in the British army.
