John Loudon McAdam
John Loudon McAdam
Personal information
Name	John Loudon McAdam
Nationality	Scottish
Birth date	September 21, 1756
Date of death	November 26, 1836
Work
Significant advance	"macadamisation"

John Loudon McAdam (September 21, 1756 - November 26, 1836) was a Scottish engineer and road-builder. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Events 1217 - The Estonian tribal leader Lembitu of Lehola was killed in a battle against Teutonic Knights. Year 1756 ( MDCCLVI) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Events 43 BC - The Second Triumvirate alliance of Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus ("Octavian" later "Caesar Augustus" Year 1836 ( MDCCCXXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap Macadam is a type of Road construction pioneered by the Scotsman John Loudon McAdam in around 1820 Events 1217 - The Estonian tribal leader Lembitu of Lehola was killed in a battle against Teutonic Knights. Year 1756 ( MDCCLVI) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Events 43 BC - The Second Triumvirate alliance of Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus ("Octavian" later "Caesar Augustus" Year 1836 ( MDCCCXXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. An engineer is a person professionally engaged in a field of Engineering. A road is an identifiable route, way or path between two or more places. He invented a new process, "macadamisation", for building roads with a smooth hard surface that would be more durable and less muddy than soil-based tracks. Macadam is a type of Road construction pioneered by the Scotsman John Loudon McAdam in around 1820 Soil, often typeset as SOiL, is a four piece rock band from Chicago Illinois United States founded by Shaun Glass Tom Schofield Tim King and Adam Zadel

Modern road construction still reflects McAdam's influence. Of subsequent improvements, the most significant was the introduction of tar (originally coal tar) to bind the road surface's stones together – "tarmac" (for Tar Macadam) – followed later by the use of hot-laid tarred aggregate or tar-sprayed chippings to create better road metalling. Tar is a viscous black Liquid derived from the Destructive distillation of organic matter Coal tar is a brown or black liquid of high Viscosity, which smells of Naphthalene and Aromatic hydrocarbons Coal tar is among the by-products when coal Tarmac (short for tarmacadam, a Portmanteau for Tar -penetration Macadam) is a type of highway surface, pioneered by John Aggregate is the component of a Composite material used to resist compressive stress More recently, oil-based asphalt laid on reinforced concrete has become a major road surface, but its use of granite or limestone chippings still recalls McAdam's innovation. Petroleum ( L petroleum, from Greek πετρέλαιον, lit Asphalt ( is a sticky black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude Petroleums and in some natural deposits sometimes termed asphaltum Reinforced concrete is Concrete in which reinforcement bars (" Rebars quot or fibers have been incorporated to strengthen a material that would otherwise be Limestone is a Sedimentary rock composed largely of the Mineral Calcite ( Calcium carbonate: CaCO3

Early life

McAdam was born in Ayr, Scotland. Ayr (Inbhir Àir Mouth of the River Ayr) is a town and port situated on the Firth of Clyde, in south-west Scotland. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. He was the youngest of ten children and second son of the Baron of Waterhead. The family name had traditionally been McGregor, but was changed to McAdam (claiming descent from the Biblical Adam) for political reasons in James I's reign. See also Adam and Eve Adam ( Hebrew: אָדָם was according to a literal interpretation of Genesis, the first man created by James VI and I (19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625 was King of Scotland as James VI, and King of England and King of Ireland as James ^[1] He moved to New York in 1770 and, as a merchant and prize agent during the American Revolution, made his fortune working at his uncle's counting house. New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous Year 1770 ( MDCCLXX) was a Common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting on Friday Merchants function as professionals who deal with Trade, dealing in commodities that they do not produce themselves in order to produce Profit. In this article the inhabitants of the thirteen colonies that supported the American Revolution are primarily referred to as "Americans" with occasional references to "Patriots" A counting house, or compting house, literally is the building room office or suite in which a Business firm carries on operations particularly Accounting He returned to Scotland in 1783 and purchased an estate at Sauchrie, Ayrshire. Year 1783 ( MDCCLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or For other uses see Estate. An estate comprises the houses and outbuildings and supporting farmland and woods that surround the gardens and grounds Ayrshire (Siorrachd Inbhir Àir ʃir̴əxg̊ iɲiɾʲˈaːɾʲ is a Registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland,

Road builder

McAdam became a trustee of the Ayrshire Turndike in 1783 and became increasingly involved with day-to-day road construction over the next 10 years. Year 1783 ( MDCCLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or In 1812 he moved to Bristol, England and he became general surveyor for the Bristol Corporation in 1804. Bristol ( ˈbrɪstəl is a city, Unitary authority and ceremonial county in South West England, west of London He put forward his ideas in evidence to Parliamentary enquiries in 1810, 1819 and 1823. The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories Year 1810 ( MDCCCX) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Year 1819 ( MDCCCXIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar in the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common year Year 1823 ( MDCCCXXIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common ^[2] In two treatises written in 1816 and 1819 (Remarks on the Present System of Road-Making and Practical Essay on the Scientific Repair and Preservation of Roads) he argued that roads needed to be raised above the surrounding ground and constructed from layered rocks and gravel in a systematic manner. A treatise is a formal lengthy systematic Discourse on some subject Year 1816 ( MDCCCXVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Year 1819 ( MDCCCXIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar in the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common year

McAdam had also been appointed surveyor to the Bristol Turnpike Trust in 1816, where he decided to remake the roads under his care with crushed stone bound with gravel on a firm base of large stones. Surveying is the technique and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional space Position of points and the distances and angles between Turnpike trusts in the United Kingdom were bodies set up by Act of Parliament, with powers to collect road tolls for maintaining the principal highways In Geology, rock is a naturally occurring aggregate of Minerals and/or Mineraloids The Earth's outer solid layer the ‘ Lithosphere A camber, making the road slightly convex, ensured rainwater rapidly drained off the road rather than penetrate and damage the road's foundations. This construction method, the greatest advance in road construction since Roman times, became known as "macadamization", or, more simply, "macadam". Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC Macadam is a type of Road construction pioneered by the Scotsman John Loudon McAdam in around 1820

The macadam method spread very quickly across the world. The first macadam road in North America, the National Road, was completed in the 1830s and most of the main roads in Europe were macadamized by the end of the nineteenth century. US 40svg|right|100px|thumb|The National Road is now included as part of U Events and trends Electromagnetic induction discovered by Michael Faraday. The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar

Although McAdam was paid £5,000 for his Bristol Turnpike Trust work and made "Surveyor-General of Metropolitan Roads" in 1820, professional jealousy cut a £5,000 grant for expenses from the Parliament of the United Kingdom to £2,000 in 1827. The Pound Sterling ( symbol £; ISO code: GBP) subdivided into 100 pence (singular penny) is the Currency Year 1820 ( MDCCCXX) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories Year 1827 ( MDCCCXXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common His efficient road-building and management work had revealed the corruption and abuse of road tolls by unscrupulous Turnpike Trusts, many of which were run at a deliberate loss despite high toll receipts. A toll road, (also known as a tollway, turnpike, pike, or toll highway, especially if it is constructed to Freeway standards

Death and descendants

McAdam died in Moffat, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. Moffat is a former Burgh and Spa town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, lying on the River Annan, with a population of around Dumfries and Galloway ( Gaelic: Dùn Phris agus an Gall-Ghaidhealaibh, d̪̊unˈfɾʲiʃ aɡ̊əs̪ əŋ ɡ̊auɫ̪ɣəɫ̪əv is one of 32 council areas One of John Loudon McAdam’s descendants was the World War Two general, Sir Richard McCreery. General Sir Richard McCreery GCB, KBE, DSO, MC ( 1 February[[ 898]]- 18 October[[ 967]] was a career soldier His mother was Emilia McAdam, a direct descendant of the engineer.

Notes

References

Devereux, Roy (1936). John Loudon McAdam: Chapters in the History of Highways. London: Oxford University Press.

External links

• Remarks on the Present System of Road Making by John Loudon McAdam, 1821, from Google Book Search
• John McAdam @about.com
• John Loudon McAdam @maybole.com
• Ayrshire History--James McAdam
• McAdam and other eponymous products @ Ward’s Book of Days
• Electric Scotland Significant Scots - John Loudon McAdam