Benjamin Blyth

Benjamin Hall Blyth (14 July 1819 – 21 August 1866) was a Scottish civil engineer.

Life

Blyth was born at 26 Minto St in Newington, Edinburgh, the son of Robert Brittain Blyth, an iron merchant, and his wife, Barbara Cooper. He was their third son, and the first to survive to adulthood.

Blyth had exceptional mental arithmetic skills. At the age of six, he astonished his father by mentally calculating the exact number of seconds he had lived since birth to that moment. In school, he stood out in performance, especially excelling in arithmetic, geometry, and algebra. His older sister was Scottish philanthropist, educational and campaigner Phoebe Blyth.

Blyth married Mary Dudgeon Wright in Leith, Edinburgh, on 1 August 1848. They initially lived at 26 Minto Street in the south of Edinburgh. Mary took on clerical duties in the early stages of Blyth's company. From 1854 they lived at 12 Hope Terrace, Edinburgh.

Blyth died from diabetes aggravated by overwork at home in North Berwick on 21 August 1866 and is buried in the Grange Cemetery, being survived by his wife, seven sons and two daughters. and the company remains in business to this day as Blyth and Blyth.

His house served as the offices of Scottish Natural Heritage between 1950 and 2003 then reverted to its use as a family home.

Employees The harbour engineer, William Dyce Cay, worked under Blyth on the Castle Douglas to Portpatrick Railway in 1861.