William Dyce Cay, MICE FRSE (28 March 1838 – 13 December 1925) was a Scottish civil engineer. He was responsible for the majority of late 19th century works to Aberdeen harbour.[1] He was described by his cousin, James Clerk Maxwell, as a "watery engineer".[2]
Life
He was born the son of Robert Dundas Cay, an Edinburgh lawyer, and Isabella Dyce (1811–1852).
In 1844 the family moved to Hong Kong following his father's appointment as Registrar to the Supreme Court of that city. His mother died there as the result of injuries from a carriage accident in 1852 and is buried in the Happy Valley Cemetery in Victoria, Hong Kong.[3]
William returned to Edinburgh soon after this, to study mathematics at Edinburgh University, winning the prestigious Straiton Gold Medal in 1856.[4] He then moved to Belfast to serve as an apprentice engineer under Lord Kelvin's brother, James Thomson. On completion of his training in 1858 he began to specialise in harbour design, and spent the bulk of his working life improving Aberdeen's docks and harbours.[5] From 1873 he was assisted by James Barron who later set up as an independent harbour engineer.[6]
