William Watson, Engineer and Educator

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W i l lia m W a t s o n E n g in e e r a n d E d u c ato r

ALTHOUGH HIS CONTRIBUTIONS in the field of education made him one of the best known men of his day; William Watson is one of the least-known Nantucketers today. Born in the family homestead on North Water Street on January 19, 1834, he was the son of William Watson and Mary Macy, the latter daughter of Peleg and Sarah Macy, descendants of Thomas Macy, one of the great figures in the ranks of the first settlers of the Island.

It was to his mother that young Watson attributed his early interest in mathematics. She was a remarkable and gifted woman, and directed the course of his studies, which included Bowditch's Practical Navigator and other volumes.

Upon graduation from the Coffin School he entered upon a course of study at the Bridgewater State Normal School, from which he gained his diploma and went into teaching for two years. With the money so earned he entered Harvard College's Lawrence Scientific School, where he also taught geometry. In 1857 he was a competitor for one of the famous Boyden prizes, and was the unanimous choice of the committee for the first prize of $300. In this same year he received his S. B. degree from Harvard — summa cum laude in engineering. In the next year he took a second degree — S. B. summa cum laude in mathematics, while at the same time serving as instructor in differential and integral calculus in the Scientific School.

In 1859, Prof. Watson went to Paris for further study. At this time, on behalf of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, of which group he was a recent member, he presented Madame Laplace a bust of Dr. Bowditch. After a visit to England he returned to Paris where he attended the Ecole Imperiale des Ponts et Chaussees. During his stay in Europe he made extensive tours through France, Switzerland, Germany, and Austria, visiting technical schools and studying their methods. In 1862 he received a Ph. D. degree from the University at Jena.

Returning to the United States he joined (upon election) the Society of Arts, reading before it various papers of his studies on the various technical schools in Europe. In May, 1864, a pamphlet was published on

WILLIAM WATSON, ENGINEER AND EDUCATOR 1]

the scope and plan for a School of Industrial Science of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology — the result of a series of conferences held by Dr. Watson, Mr. Runkle and Professor William B. Rogers. This was later incorporated in the new Institute of Technology founded in 1865. By this time Dr. Watson was a Lecturer at Harvard and had been elected Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

William Watson—Nantucket Scientist.

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HISTORIC NANTUCKET

With the beginnings of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dr. Watson was appointed the first Professor at the Institute — the department of Civil Construction, later changed to that of Descriptive Geometry and Mechanical Engineering. There were no text books in this country, and in the following year, 1866, Prof. Watson prepared a treatise on descriptive geometry which was eventually used.

Following an attendance at the French Universal Exhibition in Paris, in 1867, he introduced for the first time in America construction in plaster of problems occurring in masonry. He now devoted considerable time to public lectures in the Lowell series. In 1873 he married Margaret Fiske, of Boston, and in the same year was appointed U. S. Commissioner to the Vienna Exposition in Austria, and remained in Europe for several months collecting materials for a report to the U. S. Government. He was also appointed by the American Society of Civil Engineers to represent them at the Paris Exposition in 1878, where he was elected a member of the French Society of Civil Engineers. The honor was repeated in 1881, 1883 and 1889.

During a study of European Water Commerce, Prof. Watson prepared five essays which he delivered upon return to this country. Many honors were conferred upon him by scientific societies both in Europe and America. His authorship included papers published in the Mathematical Monthly, as well as books on civil engineering and other technical subjects. Besides his visits to Europe he made trips to Asia Minor, Greece, Mexico and the west coast of the United States.

He never forgot his early years as a student at the Coffin School, and when manual training was introduced he presented the School with four lathes operated by velocipede foot-power, and a full set of tools used in wood-turning.

Among the very few Nantucket men who knew Prof. Watson intimately was Alvin Paddack, who was invited by him to stay at the Watson home in Boston, where he received instruction in isometric drawing and other technical subjects. Mr. Paddack later became an instructor at the Coffin School, where he applied these skills for many years, as well as teaching wood-working and related subjects.

Prof. William Watson died at his Boston home on October 9, 1915, in his 83rd year.

—E. A. Stackpole