John Loudon McAdam (born September 21, 1756 in Ayr; died November 26, 1836 in Moffat) was a Scottish engineer and road-builder. 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. Image File history File links John_Loudon_McAdam. ... September 21 is the 264th day of the year (265th in leap years). ... 1756 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... The Royal Burgh of Ayr (Scottish Gaelic, Inbhir Àir) in the south-west of Scotland is a burgh situated on the Firth of Clyde. ... November 26 is the 330th day (331st on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... October 2, Charles Darwin returns from his voyage around the world. ... Moffat is a burgh and former spa town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, lying on the River Annan. ... Motto: (Latin for No one provokes me with impunity)1 Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow Official language(s) English, Gaelic, Scots 2 Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister of the UK Tony Blair MP  - First Minister Jack McConnell MSP Unification    - by Kenneth I... Look up engineer in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Macadam is a type of road construction pioneered by John Loudon McAdam in the early 1800s. ... Loess field in Germany Soil horizons are formed by combined biological, chemical and physical alterations. ...

McAdam 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. He returned to Scotland in 1783 and purchased an estate at Sauchrie, Ayrshire. Official language(s) None Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  Ranked 27th  - Total 54,520 sq mi (141,205 km²)  - Width 285 miles (455 km)  - Length 330 miles (530 km)  - % water 13. ... Battle of Chesma, by Ivan Aivazovsky. ... Merchants function as professionals who deal with trade, dealing in commodities that they do not produce themselves, in order to produce profit. ... John Trumbulls Declaration of Independence, showing the five-man committee in charge of drafting the Declaration in 1776 as it presents its work to the Second Continental Congress The American Revolution was a political movement during the last half of the 18th century that resulted in the creation of... This article belongs in one or more categories. ... 1783 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Estate: The term applies to land under ownership and as such is a generic term for a parcel of land held by an individual or family, common in early British Gentry. ... Ayrshire (Siorrachd Inbhir Àir in Scottish Gaelic) is a region of south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. ...

His experiences trying to manage and move about his estate prompted him to consider and research how road construction might be improved. 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. 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. 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". This page is related to transport; you may be looking for the 2002 Bollywood movie Road. ... A treatise is a formal, systematic written analysis of a certain subject, more lengthy than an essay. ... 1816 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1819 common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Surveyor at work with a leveling instrument. ... The Hyde Park Toll Gate, London. ... Camber may refer to: Camber, East Sussex, a seaside resort in England, near to Camber Sands. ... This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. ... Macadam is a type of road construction pioneered by John Loudon McAdam in the early 1800s. ...

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. World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... Mile markers can still be found along the National Road; this one is located in Columbus, Ohio. ... Events and Trends Electromagnetic induction discovered by Michael Faraday Dutch-speaking farmers known as Voortrekkers emigrate northwards from the Cape Colony Croquet invented in Ireland Railroad construction begins in earnest in the United States Egba refugees fleeing the Yoruba civil wars found the city of Abeokuta in south-west Nigeria... World map showing Europe A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of the Earth. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Although McAdam was paid £5,000 for his Bristol Turnpike Trust work and made "Surveyor-General of Metropolitan Roads" in 1827, professional jealousy cut a £5,000 grant for expenses from the Parliament of the United Kingdom to £2,000 in 1820. 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. ISO 4217 Code GBP User(s) United Kingdom Inflation 2. ... Naval Battle of Navarino by Carneray 1827 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... The Houses of Parliament, seen over Westminster Bridge 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. ... 1820 was a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... A toll road, tollway, turnpike, pike or tollpike is a road on which a toll authority collects a fee for use. ...

Legacy

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. 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. Tar is a viscous black liquid derived from the destructive distillation of organic matter. ... Coal tar is the liquid by-product of the distillation of coal to make coke. ... A close-up view of some freshly-laid tarmac. ... Aggregate is the component of a composite material used to resist compressive stress. ... The term road metal refers to the crushed rock used for road beds and surfaces, foundations and railway embankments, among other things. ... Pumpjack pumping an oil well near Sarnia, Ontario Ignacy Łukasiewicz - inventor of the refining of kerosene from crude oil. ... Base layer of asphalt concrete in a road under construction. ... Reinforced concrete at Sainte Jeanne dArc Church (Nice, France): architect Jacques Dror, 1926–1933 Reinforced concrete, also called ferroconcrete in some countries, is concrete in which reinforcement bars (rebars) or fibers have been incorporated to strengthen the material that would otherwise be brittle. ... Limey shale overlaid by limestone. ...

Descendants

One of John Loudon McAdam’s descendants was the World War Two general, Sir Richard McCreery. His mother was Emilia McAdam, a direct descendant of the engineer. General Sir Richard McCreery, GCB, KBE, DSO, MC (1898-1967), was a career soldier, who was Chief of Staff to Field Marshal Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis, at the time of the Second Battle of El Alamein and later commanded the British Eighth Army in Northern Italy during...

Reference

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
• about.com
• maybole.com
• see-scotland.com
• [1]
• McAdam and other eponymous products @ Ward’s Book of Days