306:
as his first member of staff), becoming a full-time lecturer there in 1946, and introducing, in 1950, the first postgraduate course in soil mechanics. In 1955, he was elevated to the chair of soil mechanics, and from 1957 to 1976 was head of department and professor of civil engineering.
454:
1499:
310:
He made great contributions in the field of quaternary geology and was widely consulted on problems involving landslips, foundations, retaining walls and embankments. Notable projects included the
410:
in 1964. In recognition of his soil mechanics contributions, in 2004, the department of Civil & Environmental
Engineering building at Imperial College was renamed after him: the
715:
706:
474:
1509:
534:
345:
coefficient which is still widely used today. Many of his research documents and other writing are available in the
Skempton and Bishop Archives at Imperial College.
1484:
359:
Skempton was also an influential contributor to the history of civil engineering. He chaired the civil engineers archive panel at ICE where he edited works on
373:
1091:
228:
47:
699:
1504:
1529:
692:
462:
438:
334:, for which he designed an array of sand-drains to accelerate consolidation of the weak alluvial foundations, the first such in the UK.
680:
1539:
1524:
618:
353:
1514:
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349:
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on the geological compaction of natural clays. Among other academic writings, he formulated concepts such as that of A and B
244:, where the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department's building was renamed after him in 2004, and was knighted in the
1534:
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43:
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337:
In situ behaviour of natural clays was of great interest to
Skempton, who wrote two papers published by the
257:
248:
for services to engineering. He was also a notable contributor on the history of
British civil engineering.
241:
187:
1039:
1420:
967:
853:
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261:
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Skempton was born in
Northampton and attended Northampton grammar school. In 1932 Skempton he went to the
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232:(4 June 1914 – 9 August 2001) was an English civil engineer internationally recognised, along with
123:
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in north-east London helped highlight
Skempton's insights on clay strata. Other projects included
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1318:
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Skempton worked on many high-profile projects through his life, notably the back analysis of the
268:(BRS) in 1936, initially working on reinforced concrete before moving to soil mechanics in 1937.
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367:(1981), regarded as the founder of civil engineering, and early fen drainage engineer
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In 1945, Skempton was seconded from BRS to establish a soil mechanics course at
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445:). He was knighted for services to engineering in the 2000 New Year Honours.
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793:
442:
155:
284:
1069:
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International
Society of Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering
280:
236:, as one of the founding fathers of the engineering discipline of
374:
A Biographical
Dictionary of Civil Engineers of the British Isles
260:
in London to study civil engineering. After beginning work on a
1073:
688:
425:. Skempton also accumulated medals from the ICE (the 1968
330:(July 1937) and other embankment dams, including that at
530:"Sir Alec Westley Skempton. 4 June 1914 - 9 August 2001"
1500:
Presidents of the
Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers
475:
Imperial
College Civil & Environmental Engineering
271:
The failure of an earth embankment for a reservoir at
591:"Professor Alan W. Bishop Landmark Years 1920 – 1945"
535:
Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society
453:
Skempton was elected as the second President of the
352:' Soil Mechanics and Foundations committee (now the
461:, in 1957. He also won the Terzaghi award from the
204:
194:
183:
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136:
118:
110:
102:
94:
78:
55:
34:
673:A Particle of Clay: the Biography of Alec Skempton
622:(online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004.
616:"The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography".
287:Dockyard and the Eau Brink Cut channel of the
240:. He established the soil mechanics course at
1085:
700:
8:
1510:Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering
1092:
1078:
1070:
707:
693:
685:
652:. Faculty of Engineering, Imperial College
497:
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371:, and started work on the first volume of
31:
563:
561:
559:
547:
619:Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
485:
417:Other accolades included Fellow of the
7:
1485:Academics of Imperial College London
429:), the Geological Society (the 1972
463:American Society of Civil Engineers
439:Institution of Structural Engineers
650:"The Skempton and Bishop Archives"
421:(1961) and Founding Fellow of the
408:Long-term stability of clay slopes
264:bursary-funded PhD, he joined the
25:
595:The Skempton and Bishop Archives
502:Dwyer, Joseph (4 October 2001).
377:, eventually published in 2002.
354:British Geotechnical Association
348:He was a founding member of the
318:failure in Derbyshire in 1984.
128:bearing capacity of foundations
504:"Sir Alec Skempton (obituary)"
350:Institution of Civil Engineers
1:
569:"Professor Sir Alec Skempton"
390:Skempton was a member of the
1505:Fellows of the Royal Society
636:UK public library membership
437:, and a gold medal from the
423:Royal Academy of Engineering
1530:IStructE Gold Medal winners
328:Chingford reservoir failure
114:Imperial College London, UK
1556:
1107:
723:
266:Building Research Station
221:Sir Alec Westley Skempton
214:
166:
528:Chandler, R. J. (2003).
427:James Alfred Ewing Medal
279:, the Muirhead dam near
1540:People from Northampton
1525:British civil engineers
402:. He delivered the 4th
396:City and Guilds College
258:City and Guilds College
242:Imperial College London
188:Imperial College London
1515:Geotechnical engineers
854:Alan Garnett Davenport
782:Knud Winstrup Johansen
628:10.1093/ref:odnb/76140
549:10.1098/rsbm.2003.0030
27:English civil engineer
246:2000 New Year Honours
122:Skempton's A & B
314:in Pakistan and the
73:Northampton, England
60:Alec Wesley Skempton
1535:Lyell Medal winners
944:Leslie E. Robertson
884:Olgierd Zienkiewicz
716:IStructE Gold Medal
343:pore water pressure
262:Goldsmiths' Company
124:pore water pressure
1172:John Conrad Jaeger
974:David A. Nethercot
890:Santiago Calatrava
764:John Guthrie Brown
597:. Imperial College
571:. Imperial College
381:Honours and awards
339:Geological Society
1472:
1471:
1297:B. Simpson (1992)
1232:N. R. Morgenstern
1208:V. F. B. de Mello
1101:Rankine Lecturers
1067:
1066:
1040:James O'Callaghan
818:Nathan M. Newmark
758:William Glanville
740:Eugène Freyssinet
634:(Subscription or
412:Skempton Building
218:
217:
195:Academic advisors
168:Scientific career
162:
146:
131:Skempton Building
18:Sir Alec Skempton
16:(Redirected from
1547:
1520:Knights Bachelor
1403:C. R. I. Clayton
1274:H. B. Sutherland
1094:
1087:
1080:
1071:
1022:Robert Halvorson
1010:Tristram Carfrae
980:William F. Baker
914:Michael Burdekin
902:Michel Virlogeux
824:Riccardo Morandi
770:Pier Luigi Nervi
709:
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435:Newcomen Society
400:Imperial College
332:Chew Valley Lake
300:Imperial College
289:River Great Ouse
231:
205:Notable students
160:
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50:
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1421:M. Jamiolkowski
1367:N. N. Ambraseys
1268:Ronald F. Scott
1262:A. D. N. Penman
1226:A. N. Schofield
1103:
1098:
1068:
1063:
806:Fritz Leonhardt
800:Charles Husband
719:
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668:Further reading
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404:Rankine Lecture
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277:Waterloo Bridge
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142:Rankine Lecture
129:
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111:Alma mater
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89:London, England
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1130:A. W. Skempton
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1004:Man-Chung Tang
1001:
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935:
932:Cheng Hon-kwan
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926:Duncan Michael
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878:Edmund Happold
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361:William Jessop
323:
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316:Carsington Dam
304:Alan W. Bishop
253:
250:
238:soil mechanics
216:
215:
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209:Alan W. Bishop
206:
202:
201:
199:Alfred Pippard
196:
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185:
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178:Soil Mechanics
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119:Known for
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106:United Kingdom
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86:(aged 87)
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1307:P. R. Vaughan
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1136:N. M. Newmark
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1119:
1118:L. F. Cooling
1116:
1113:
1112:A. Casagrande
1110:
1109:
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1102:
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1076:
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1058:Naeem Hussain
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1044:
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1038:
1035:
1032:
1029:
1026:
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1020:
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1016:Mike Schlaich
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1008:
1005:
1002:
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992:Paul Westbury
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987:
984:
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956:Roger Johnson
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872:Jörg Schlaich
870:
867:
864:
861:
860:Anthony Flint
858:
855:
852:
849:
848:Michael Horne
846:
843:
840:
837:
834:
831:
830:Alec Skempton
828:
825:
822:
819:
816:
813:
812:Oleg Kerensky
810:
807:
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801:
798:
795:
792:
789:
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762:
759:
756:
753:
752:Félix Candela
750:
747:
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741:
738:
735:
732:
729:
726:
725:
722:
717:
710:
705:
703:
698:
696:
691:
690:
687:
683:
682:
681:1-870325-84-2
678:
674:
667:
651:
645:
642:
637:
629:
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621:
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609:
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449:International
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436:
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428:
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419:Royal Society
415:
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308:
305:
301:
296:
294:
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286:
283:in Scotland,
282:
278:
274:
269:
267:
263:
259:
251:
249:
247:
243:
239:
235:
234:Karl Terzaghi
230:
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82:9 August 2001
81:
77:
58:
54:
49:
45:
39:Alec Skempton
33:
30:
19:
1451:N. O'Riordan
1415:M. D. Bolton
1325:G. E. Blight
1280:H. G. Poulos
1238:D. J. Henkel
1190:R. E. Gibson
1166:K. H. Roscoe
1142:A. W. Bishop
1129:
1046:Michael Cook
962:Joseph Locke
950:John Roberts
938:Sam Thorburn
908:John Burland
896:Anthony Hunt
829:
672:
671:
654:. Retrieved
644:
617:
611:
599:. Retrieved
594:
585:
573:. Retrieved
539:
533:
523:
511:. Retrieved
508:The Guardian
507:
457:, following
452:
416:
407:
389:
372:
365:John Smeaton
358:
347:
336:
325:
309:
302:(recruiting
297:
270:
255:
220:
219:
184:Institutions
167:
126:coefficients
84:(2001-08-09)
29:
1495:2001 deaths
1490:1914 births
1463:S. Jefferis
1409:S. W. Sloan
1355:D. M. Potts
1337:S. Leroueil
1331:D. W. Hight
1319:S. F. Brown
1301:K. Ishihara
1250:C. P. Wroth
1202:A. C. Meigh
1184:T. W. Lambe
1034:Ding Jiemin
1028:Jo da Silva
968:Mike Glover
920:Ian Liddell
842:Frank Newby
836:Alan Harris
746:Hardy Cross
728:Henry Adams
656:8 September
601:8 September
575:8 September
542:: 509–519.
513:7 September
431:Lyell Medal
369:John Grundy
293:King's Lynn
159:Gold Medal
149:Lyell Medal
103:Citizenship
95:Nationality
70:4 June 1914
1479:Categories
1457:G. Gazetas
1439:R. Jardine
1433:S. Lacasse
1391:A. Charles
1379:R. J. Mair
1373:R. K. Rowe
1214:W. H. Ward
1196:J. Kérisel
1178:P. W. Rowe
1160:R. B. Peck
1154:R. Glossop
1148:L. Bjerrum
998:Chris Wise
986:Allan Mann
788:Yves Guyon
734:John Baker
638:required.)
481:References
398:whilst at
392:Links Club
312:Mangla Dam
66:1914-06-04
1445:E. Alonso
1349:H. Brandl
1052:Paul Fast
866:Jack Zunz
273:Chingford
1256:N. Janbu
1124:A. Meyer
794:Ove Arup
469:See also
459:Terzaghi
443:IStructE
363:(1979),
322:Research
156:IStructE
1385:A. Gens
1244:E. Hoek
718:winners
406:titled
394:of the
285:Gosport
98:British
1465:(2022)
1459:(2019)
1453:(2018)
1447:(2017)
1441:(2016)
1435:(2015)
1429:(2014)
1423:(2013)
1417:(2012)
1411:(2011)
1405:(2010)
1399:(2009)
1393:(2008)
1387:(2007)
1381:(2006)
1375:(2005)
1369:(2004)
1363:(2003)
1357:(2002)
1351:(2001)
1345:(2000)
1339:(1999)
1333:(1998)
1327:(1997)
1321:(1996)
1315:(1995)
1309:(1994)
1303:(1993)
1294:(1991)
1288:(1990)
1282:(1989)
1276:(1988)
1270:(1987)
1264:(1986)
1258:(1985)
1252:(1984)
1246:(1983)
1240:(1982)
1234:(1981)
1228:(1980)
1222:(1979)
1216:(1978)
1210:(1977)
1204:(1976)
1198:(1975)
1192:(1974)
1186:(1973)
1180:(1972)
1174:(1971)
1168:(1970)
1162:(1969)
1156:(1968)
1150:(1967)
1144:(1966)
1138:(1965)
1132:(1964)
1126:(1963)
1120:(1962)
1114:(1961)
1060:(2022)
1054:(2021)
1048:(2020)
1042:(2019)
1036:(2018)
1030:(2017)
1024:(2016)
1018:(2015)
1012:(2014)
1006:(2013)
1000:(2012)
994:(2012)
988:(2011)
982:(2010)
976:(2009)
970:(2008)
964:(2007)
958:(2006)
952:(2005)
946:(2004)
940:(2003)
934:(2001)
928:(2000)
922:(1999)
916:(1998)
910:(1997)
904:(1996)
898:(1994)
892:(1992)
886:(1991)
880:(1991)
874:(1990)
868:(1988)
862:(1988)
856:(1987)
850:(1986)
844:(1985)
838:(1984)
832:(1981)
826:(1980)
820:(1979)
814:(1977)
808:(1975)
802:(1973)
796:(1973)
790:(1972)
784:(1971)
778:(1968)
772:(1967)
766:(1964)
760:(1962)
754:(1960)
748:(1958)
742:(1957)
736:(1953)
730:(1922)
679:
632:
252:Career
174:Fields
161:(1981)
152:(1972)
145:(1964)
137:Awards
291:near
281:Largs
229:FREng
227:
48:FREng
46:
677:ISBN
658:2013
603:2013
577:2013
515:2013
190:, UK
140:4th
79:Died
56:Born
624:doi
544:doi
433:),
356:).
225:FRS
44:FRS
36:Sir
1481::
675:.
593:.
558:^
540:49
538:.
532:.
506:.
488:^
465:.
414:.
386:UK
295:.
1093:e
1086:t
1079:v
708:e
701:t
694:v
660:.
630:.
626::
605:.
579:.
552:.
546::
517:.
441:(
68:)
64:(
20:)
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