Dorothy Donaldson Buchanan
CIVIL ENGINEER (1899 - 1985)
Dorothy Buchanan achieved a Bachelor of
Science degree in Civil Engineering at
Edinburgh University, being the first woman to
graduate an engineering course in Scotland.
Due to health reasons, Buchanan moved to
London, and applied to work on the design of
Sydney Harbour Bridge with steelwork
contractors Dorman Long & Co. Dorothy
helped design many bridges, both in the UK
and abroad, including in Khartoum, Sudan,
Dessouk, crossing the River Nile and the Tyne
Bridge in Newcastle. Buchanan because an
Institute of Civil Engineers member in 1927,
having the practical experience and passing
degree-level exams. She was then qualified
as a chartered civil engineer, becoming the
first woman in Britain to have achieved this.
Martha Coston
CIVIL ENGINEER(1826 - 1905)
Martha Coston was the inventor of the signal
flares, which are used by the Navy to this day.
Coston was married to Benjamin Franklin
Coston, who had been working on the
development of pyrotechnic flares, but sadly
passed due to exposure to toxic chemicals.
Coston discovered the notes from his life's
work and decided she had the ability to
continue his research and develop a signal
flare that works. The U.S. Navy awarded
Coston a contract to manufacture the flares
as they paid her for the patent rights of the
flares. These flares are said to have helped
US win wars.
119