Edmund Sharpe (1809–1877) was an English architect, architectural historian, railway engineer, and sanitary reformer. Sharpe's main focus was on churches, and he was a pioneer in the use of terracotta as a structural material in church building, designing what were known as "pot" churches. He also designed secular buildings, including domestic properties and schools, and worked on the development of railways in Northwest England, designing bridges and planning new lines. In 1851 he resigned from his architectural practice, and in 1856 he moved from Lancaster, spending the remainder of his career mainly as a railway engineer. Sharpe was involved in Lancaster's civic affairs. He was an elected town councillor and served as mayor in 1848–49. Concerned about the town's poor water supply and sanitation, he championed the construction of new sewers and a waterworks. Sharpe achieved national recognition as an architectural historian. He published books of detailed architectural drawings, wrote a number of articles on architecture, devised a scheme for the classification of English Gothic architectural styles, and in 1875 was awarded the Royal Gold Medal of the Royal Institute of British Architects.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Sharpe
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1892:
William Heffelfinger was paid $525 by the Allegheny Athletic Association, becoming the first professional American football player on record. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Heffelfinger
1912:
The bodies of Robert Falcon Scott and his companions were discovered, roughly eight months after their deaths during the ill-fated British Antarctic Expedition 1910. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Falcon_Scott
1928:
Approximately 111 people, mostly women and children, died after the British ocean liner SS Vestris was abandoned as it sank in the western Atlantic Ocean. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Vestris
1991:
In Dili, East Timor, Indonesian forces opened fire on student demonstrators protesting the occupation of East Timor, killing at least 250 people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Cruz_massacre
2001:
American Airlines Flight 587 crashed into residential buildings five minutes after takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, killing a total of 265 people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Airlines_Flight_587
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
hobbledehoy: An awkward adolescent boy. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hobbledehoy
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
An idea or institution may arise for one reason and be maintained for quite a different reason. --Joseph McCabe https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joseph_McCabe
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