Robert Foulis (inventor)
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Robert Foulis (1796–1866) was a Canadian inventor, civil engineer and artist. Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Foulis moved to Canada in 1818, following the death of his first wife in childbirth.
He settled in Saint John, New Brunswick were he was appointed deputy land surveyor in 1822. After he surveyed the upper Saint John River for the feasibility of steamshipping, he became involved with the buildings of several early steamboats and the first St. John harbour ferry.
Foulis founded the province's first iron foundry in 1825 and a school of arts in 1838. Later, he patented a gas light apparatus that was later used in lighthouses and invented a steam-powered foghorn whose paternity was disputed between himself and the government of New Brunswick.
Due to business ventures of varying success and his failure at patenting his foghorn, Foulis died in poverty.
[edit] External links
- Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
- Robert Foulis at Canada's Digital Collections
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