Rennie, John (1761-1821)

Scottish engineer who built three bridges over the River Thames in London, later demolished: Waterloo Bridge (1811-17), Southwark Bridge (1814-19), and London Bridge (1824-34); he also built canals (Kennet and Avon, Lancashire), dams, and harbours.

Rennie was born near Haddington, Lothian, studied at Edinburgh University and then worked for James Watt from 1784. He started his own engineering business about 1791, and built the London and East India docks, as well as construction work on harbours in other parts of the UK.

Waterloo Bridge was demolished 1934-36 and replaced in 1944; London Bridge was demolished in 1968, bought by a US oil company and reassembled at Lake Havana, Arizona.