# Thomas Rowatt

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{{Short description|Scottish engineer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
'''Thomas Rowatt'''  (1879–1950) was a Scottish engineer who became Keeper then Director of the [Royal Scottish Museum](/source/Royal_Scottish_Museum).

==Life==
He was born in [Kew](/source/Kew) on 7 November 1879 to Scottish parents. His grandfather Thomas Rowatt (d.1880) was involved with [James Young](/source/James_Young_(chemist)) in the Scottish shale oil industry.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.scottishshale.co.uk/KnowledgePages/Companies/Rowatt_Yool.html |title=Museum of the Scottish Shale Oil Industry |website=www.scottishshale.co.uk |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180423102148/https://www.scottishshale.co.uk/KnowledgePages/Companies/Rowatt_Yool.html |archive-date=2018-04-23}} </ref>

His family moved to Scotland in his youth and he was educated at Ewart High School in [Newton Stewart](/source/Newton_Stewart). He studied Engineering at the Wohler Schule in [Frankfurt-on-Main](/source/Frankfurt-on-Main) and at Heriot-Watt College in [Edinburgh](/source/Edinburgh).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Thomas_Rowatt|title = Thomas Rowatt - Graces Guide}}</ref> He served his apprenticeship at Carrick & Ritchie, crane builders, at the Waverley Engineering Works on [Easter Road, Edinburgh](/source/Easter_Road%2C_Edinburgh).<ref>Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1895</ref>

In 1901 he became an assistant at the [Royal Scottish Museum](/source/Royal_Scottish_Museum). In 1909 he was promoted to Assistant Keeper in the Technology Department. In 1921 he replaced Alexander Gait as Keeper of Technology and in 1934 succeeded Edwin Ward as Director of the Museum.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nms.ac.uk/about-us/history-of-national-museums-scotland/|title = History of National Museums Scotland}}</ref>

In the [First World War](/source/First_World_War) he served with the [Royal Engineers](/source/Royal_Engineers) attached to the Royal Naval Division at [Antwerp](/source/Antwerp). Redeployed to [Gallipoli](/source/Gallipoli) in 1915 he won the [Military Medal](/source/Military_Medal) for bravery.

In 1935 he was elected a Fellow of the [Royal Society of Edinburgh](/source/Royal_Society_of_Edinburgh). His proposers were [Percy H. Grimshaw](/source/Percy_H._Grimshaw), [Alexander Stephen](/source/Alexander_Charles_Stephen), Sir [Thomas Hudson Beare](/source/Thomas_Hudson_Beare) and [John Brown Clark](/source/John_Brown_Clark).<ref>{{cite book|title=Biographical Index of Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783–2002|date=July 2006|publisher=The Royal Society of Edinburgh|isbn=0-902-198-84-X|url=https://www.royalsoced.org.uk/cms/files/fellows/biographical_index/fells_indexp2.pdf|access-date=2018-04-22|archive-date=2016-03-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304074135/https://www.royalsoced.org.uk/cms/files/fellows/biographical_index/fells_indexp2.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

He was President of the Watt Club 1937/8.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.alumni.hw.ac.uk/presidents-of-the-watt-club|title = Alumni}}</ref>

He retired in 1945 and died on 7 April 1950.

==References==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowatt, Thomas}}
Category:1879 births
Category:1950 deaths
Category:Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
Category:Directors of museums in the United Kingdom

{{UK-engineer-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Thomas Rowatt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Rowatt) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Rowatt?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.