Mary Irvine (engineer) facts for kids

Mary Thompson Irvine (1919 – 2001) was a pioneering British engineer. She made history in 1947 by becoming the first woman to be a chartered member of the Institution of Structural Engineers. This meant she was officially recognized as a highly skilled and qualified structural engineer. Later in life, she was known as Mary Lindsay.

Growing Up and Learning

Mary Thompson Irvine was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on August 19, 1919. Her father, William, was a mechanical engineering apprentice and a draftsman. A draftsman draws detailed plans for machines or structures. The family lived near a railway works in an industrial part of Glasgow.

In 1921, when Mary was two, her family moved to Leeds in Yorkshire, England. They settled in Gildersome village. This village was home to Robert Hudson Ltd., a large company. It made light railway equipment and trucks. The company was a big employer in the area. Records from 1939 show Mary, at age 20, working as a "Junior Draftsman." Her father was a "chief technical engineer" for light railway equipment.

By 1939, Mary lived with her father and sister in Moortown, a nice suburb of Leeds. Mary first started training to be an architect. But after visiting a steelworks, she was inspired to switch to structural engineering. Structural engineers design buildings and other structures to be strong and safe.

She took evening classes at Bradford Technical College. Then she finished her studies at the Royal Technical College in Glasgow. Her father had also studied there. Mary was an amazing student and earned very high grades. In July 1947, she took a tough two-day exam. This exam was to become a chartered engineer with the Institution of Structural Engineers. Only 65 out of 171 people passed the test that year. Mary was one of them!

Her Engineering Career

Mary Irvine had a long career from the 1930s to 1985. She worked in the UK, Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), and South Africa. She specialized in designing steel structures for commercial and industrial buildings.

In 1947, Mary Irvine became the first woman to be a Chartered Member of the Institution of Structural Engineers. This was a huge step for women in engineering. The first woman to become an Associate Member was Florence Mary Taylor in 1926. It took until 1954 for Marjem Chatterton to become the first woman elected as a Fellow.

One important project she worked on was the Castle Peak B Power Station in Hong Kong in 1982. She created computer software to help design large steel beams called plate girders. She also checked the designs for coal bunkers. These were huge structures, with each boiler house weighing about 9000 tonnes.

During her career, she worked for several companies. These included the London County Council and Taylor Woodrow Construction. She also worked for Southern Rhodesia Railways. In 1979, she even set up an office in Dundee for a company called Bradshaw Buckton & Tonge.

Personal Life

In 1953, Mary announced her engagement to Tom Lindsay. He worked for the South Rhodesian Post Office. They met at the London Highland Club. They got married on June 11, 1955, in Glasgow. After a honeymoon in Europe, they first settled in Bulawayo.