J. W. Wilson

J. W. Wilson (Joseph William Wilson; 11 October 1829 – 5 November 1898) was an English engineer. He was a consulting engineer in the construction of piers, and founded the School of Practical Engineering at Crystal Palace School.

Life Early life and career Wilson was born in Walthamstow, son of the Rev. William Wilson, vicar of Walthamstow. He was intended for the church, and was entered for Wadham College, Oxford; preferring a career in engineering, he was placed as a pupil with his cousin Charles Fox, of the firm Fox and Henderson. At the end of his pupilage he was an assistant at the firm, in charge of the machinery used for the preparation of timber in the construction of the Crystal Palace, the building housing the Great Exhibition of 1851.

Oldbury and Banbury In 1852, in partnership with his brother-in-law Samuel H. F. Cox, Wilson established at Oldbury (now in West Midlands) the Oldbury Engineering Works. It employed 300 to 400 men, and made pumping engines and other machinery, including machinery for the goldfields of California. his son Maurice Wilson (1862–1936) became principal in 1924.