{{short description|Scottish locomotive and marine engineer}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2017}} {{Use British English|date=November 2017}} {{Infobox engineer |image = James Kennedy.jpg |image_size = <!-- (if image is smaller than 250px) --> |caption = |name = James Kennedy |citizenship = [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|British]] |birth_date = {{birth date|1797|01|13|df=yes}} |birth_place = [[Gilmerton]], [[Edinburgh]], Scotland |death_date = {{dda|1886|09|25|1797|01|13|df=yes}} |death_place = [[Garston, Liverpool|Garston]], [[Liverpool]], England |education = |spouse = |parents = |children = |discipline = Mechanical engineering |institutions = |practice_name = |significant_projects = |significant_design = |significant_advance = |significant_awards = }}
'''James Kennedy''' (13 January 1797 – 25 September 1886) was a Scottish locomotive and marine engineer. He was born in the village of [[Gilmerton]] near [[Edinburgh]], [[Scotland]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/wiki/James_Kennedy |title=Biography |publisher=Gracesguide.co.uk |date=2011-04-14 |accessdate=2012-06-12}}</ref>
==Career== ===Early years=== He was apprenticed at the age of 13 to a [[millwright]] near [[Dalkeith]], where he remained for five years. He spent some years working as a millwright, working with [[Winding engine|winding]] and pumping engines at several places before moving to Laverock Hall (now [[Larkhall]]) near [[Hamilton, South Lanarkshire|Hamilton]], where he was employed to erect pumping and winding engines of his own design.
===Robert Stephenson and Company=== In [[Liverpool]] to supervise the installation of a marine engine, he met [[George Stephenson]], who was then establishing his locomotive works, [[Robert Stephenson and Company]], at [[Newcastle-upon-Tyne]]. Stephenson appointed Kennedy manager in 1824. While in this post, Kennedy constructed two pairs of stationary winding engines{{clarify|date=July 2015|what are these?}} and planned the first three [[locomotive]]s for the opening of the [[Stockton and Darlington Railway]] in 1825.
===Bury, Curtis and Kennedy=== In 1825 he left Stephenson to return to Liverpool as manager of [[Mather, Dixon and Company]] but very soon joined locomotive builder [[Edward Bury and Company]] as foreman of the Clarence Foundry. In 1842 he became a partner in the firm, now renamed [[Bury, Curtis, and Kennedy|Bury, Curtis and Kennedy]].
===Thomas Vernon and Son=== From 1844 he also acted as manager of the Liverpool [[shipbuilder#Industrial Revolution|shipbuilder]] Thomas Vernon and Son where he introduced iron deck [[Beam (structure)|beam]]s.
==Professional appointments== He was a founder member of the [[Institution of Mechanical Engineers]] in 1847, becoming its President in 1860.
==Death== He died in 1886 at his home, Cressington Park, [[Garston, Merseyside|Garston]], near Liverpool. He was survived by his wife, Adelaide.
==References== {{reflist}}
{{s-start}} {{s-npo|pro}} {{s-bef | before =[[John Penn (engineer)|John Penn]]}} {{s-ttl |title=[[President (corporate title)|President]] of the [[Institution of Mechanical Engineers]] |years=1860}} {{s-aft |after=[[William George Armstrong]] }} {{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, James}} [[Category:1797 births]] [[Category:1886 deaths]] [[Category:People of the Industrial Revolution]] [[Category:19th-century Scottish inventors]] [[Category:British steam engine engineers]] [[Category:Scottish railway mechanical engineers]] [[Category:British rail transport pioneers]] [[Category:Locomotive builders and designers]] [[Category:People from Garston]] [[Category:Engineers from Liverpool]]