Pioneering engineer Dorothy "Dot" Buchanan is a forgotten figure in the construction of the Tyne Bridge.
She was the first woman to be granted membership of the Institution of Civil Engineers.
But she gave up her career to be an "industrious housewife". Quick thread:🧵
Dorothy Donaldson Buchanan was the daughter of a church minister from Langholm, Dumfriesshire.
She studied civil engineering at Edinburgh University and worked for Ralph Freeman, the bridge-building consultant engineer for Dorman Long, who built the Sydney and Tyne Bridges.
Buchanan stated her profession as "designer and draughtsman" and worked on "intricate mathematical calculations and drawings" for the steelwork on the Sydney Harbour and Tyne Bridges.
It was said she was regarded as a curiosity by her male colleagues, who "came to gawp".
In 1927, during her work on the Tyne Bridge, Dot Buchanan became the first woman among ten thousand men to be granted membership of the Institution of Civil Engineers:
"I felt I represented all the women in the world. It was my hope that I would be followed by many others."
Buchanan's time in engineering was short-lived.
In 1930, she married electrical engineer William Fleming and gave up her career to become an "industrious housewife".
One newspaper wrote about Buchanan's change of career under the headline: "Engineer Girl Can Cook!"
There's more about Dot Buchanan and other unsung figures in my new book about the Tyne Bridge which is out now.
You can get more details and buy the book here:
tynebridgebook.com/
Paul Brown
@paulbrownUK
Writes about stuff: history, football, true crime, rocketbelts. New book: The Tyne Bridge: tynebridgebook.com Newsletter: singulardiscoveries.com
