(Sir) John Fowler

Born at Wadsley Hall near Sheffield on 15 July 1817. Became involved with railway construction early in his career. By 1844 he went into business on his own account, laying out the systems for what became the Manchester Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway. Later he became the engineer for the London Metropolitan Railway and thus became involved in the creation of London Underground. With his partner Sir Benjamin Baker, Fowler was later the joint engineer of the Forth Bridge.

He died at Bournemouth 20 November 1898.

Reference      Mike Chrimes, ‘Fowler, Sir John, first baronet (1817–1898)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography