William Maw

Who was William Maw?

William Henry Maw was a British civil engineer and astronomer. Born into a seafaring family and orphaned at age 16, Maw was taken into the workshops of the Eastern Counties Railway as an assistant before progressing to the design office as a draughtsman. He was made the head of the office and designed the first outside cylinder locomotive for use in India. In 1865 he founded the journal Engineering and remained an editor for the rest of his life. He left the railway and became a consulting engineer his many works including printing presses for several newspapers and magazines. He was president of the Civil and Mechanical Engineers' Society, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and the Institution of Civil Engineers.

Maw was also a keen astronomer and was a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society with a particular interest in double stars. He co-founded the British Astronomical Association for amateur astronomers and served as its treasurer and president. He later became a council member, treasurer and president of the RAS. During the First World War he served his country as a committee member for the Ministry of Munitions and upon the board of the National Physical Laboratory.