Peter Ewart

Peter Ewart (about 1767-1842) was a British mechanical engineer associated with the Soho Foundry and employed by the firm of Boulton and Watt. Around 1795 he designed a vertical cylinder-boring mill for installation at the Boulton and Watt works, but it was never constructed because James Watt preferred the established horizontal type. He later entered government service and died on 15 September 1842 at the Royal Dock Yard, Woolwich, where he held the post of chief engineer and inspector of machinery to the government. Contemporary newspaper reports describe how he was superintending the testing of chain cables for warships when a link snapped and the end of the chain struck him across the chest, causing fatal injuries. The source records only these few details, so this entry is deliberately brief.