Fairbairn, Sir William, an eminent engineer, born at Kelso; served an apprenticeship in N. Shields, and in 1817 started business in Manchester, where he came to the front as a builder of iron ships; improved upon Robert Stephenson's idea of a tubular bridge, and built upwards of 1000 of these; introduced iron shafts into cotton mills, and was employed by Government to test the suitability of iron for purposes of defence; created a baronet in 1869 (1789‒1874).
Definition taken from The Nuttall Encyclopædia, edited by the Reverend James Wood (1907)
Fairbairn, Andrew M. * Fairfax, Edward