James Laurie

Engineering career Laurie was born in Bellsquarry, Scotland, in 1811; from the 1820s until 1832, he was apprenticed to an instrument maker in the town. In 1832, he and James P. Kirkwood moved to Boston; Laurie then worked as an associate engineer under Kirkwood on the construction of the Norwich and Worcester Railroad (N&W). Laurie became chief engineer in 1835. In 1837, the Taft Tunnel at Lisbon, Connecticut (the oldest tunnel still in railroad use in its original form) was constructed during his tenure.

After leaving the N&W, Laurie performed surveys for railroads, canals, bridges, tunnels, and wharves. From 1845–47, he performed surveys for the Providence and Plainfield Railroad. In 1848, he opened his own office in Boston. He was the first to present a paper to the society. He soon was elected president. At a meeting on January 5, 1853 he presented the group's first paper, advocating an elevated railroad on Broadway to get around horse traffic congestion – 15 years before the city's first elevated line was built. The group was inactive from 1855 to 1867, partially due to Laurie's absence from the city. In 1867, he held a meeting to reinvigorate the society, and uncovered funding to establish a permanent office for the group. When Kirkwood succeeded Laurie as president in 1868, he gave credit to Laurie for his contributions.