Charles A. Stevenson

Charles A. Stevenson (1855-1950) was famous as the last of the Scottish Lighthouse dynasty. Apart from being responsible for the design and building of 23 lighthouses around Scotland, he had much wider engineering skills than his forebears. Educated at the Edinburgh Academy before going on to study mathematics and engineering at the University of Edinburgh. Noted for his experiments with optics and sound, as well as inventing a first wireless communication system, prior to Marconi. In 1886 he...See more

Charles A. Stevenson (1855-1950) was famous as the last of the Scottish Lighthouse dynasty. Apart from being responsible for the design and building of 23 lighthouses around Scotland, he had much wider engineering skills than his forebears. Educated at the Edinburgh Academy before going on to study mathematics and engineering at the University of Edinburgh. Noted for his experiments with optics and sound, as well as inventing a first wireless communication system, prior to Marconi. In 1886 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Charles married Margaret Sherriff, they had a son David Alan and daughters Frances and May (Evelyn Mary), the latter becoming the transcriber for his book SCRAPS, published posthumously. Charles was the first cousin of Robert Louis Stevenson, both of whose fathers were lighthouse engineers. See less