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Thomas Meik

Civil Engineer (1812-1896)

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 6, 2026
Entity authorityQ7792372 ↗
Source-derived summary

Thomas Meik ((1812-01-20)20 January 1812 – (1896-04-22)22 April 1896) was a 19th-century Scottish engineer.

He is particularly associated with ports and railways in Scotland and northern England, Meik fathered two prominent engineering sons: Patrick Meik and Charles Meik. The firm they founded remains active, today part of the Jacobs Engineering Group.

Early career

He was born at Easter Duddingston on 20 January 1812, the son of Patrick Meik and his wife, Barbara Scott.

Educated at the High School and University of Edinburgh, Thomas Meik worked for two years with a firm of millwrights named Moodie and was then apprenticed to John Steedman, an engineer and contractor who was working in Glasgow on the Hutcheson Bridge (designed by Robert Stevenson, grandfather of author Robert Louis Stevenson).

His first long-term post was as assistant engineer to William Chadwell Mylne of the New River Company, London.

River Wear Commission

In 1845, at the age of 33, Meik was appointed engineer to the River Wear Commission (responsible for maritime works around Sunderland). In 1859, the commission took over the construction of the Hendon Dock on the south side of the Wear, and Meik was responsible for the entire works (the task included a grain warehouse and a lighthouse – which, although relocated when the South Pier was shortened in 1983, still stands today). Just a few miles further north, he was also consulting engineer to Blyth Harbour from 1862.

Partnerships

In 1868, he entered into partnership with William David Nisbet (1837–1897) in Sunderland and Edinburgh.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Thomas Meik” as civil Engineer (1812-1896). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Thomas, Meik and Civil.

Editorial reviewA productive starting point for separating a subject’s documented career from later reputation and commemoration. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1812, 1896, 1845, 1859—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1812-01-20. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Thomas, Meik and Civil providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Thomas Meik”, the useful work is to connect “civil Engineer (1812-1896)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7792372. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1812, 1896, 1845 and 1859.

Critical limits

Public reputation and documentary evidence do not always develop together; absence from a summary is not evidence of historical absence. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

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  2. Expand the search: follow Thomas Meik primary sources, Thomas Meik archive and Thomas research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Thomas Meik” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.