- Robert Foulis (inventor)
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 upperSaint John River for the feasibility ofsteamship ping, he became involved with the buildings of several early steamboats and the first St. John harbourferry .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 inlighthouse s and invented a steam-poweredfoghorn 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.
External links
* [http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=4432 Biography at the "Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online"]
* [http://collections.ic.gc.ca/heirloom_series/volume6/98-101.htm Robert Foulis at Canada's Digital Collections]
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