Sir Francis Joseph Edward Spring KCIE

Order of the Indian Empire

The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1878. The Order includes members of three classes:#Knight Grand Commander #Knight Commander #Companion...

(b. January 20, 1849 – d. August 25, 1933) was a British civil engineer who played a pioneering role in development of the Indian Railways

Indian Railways

Indian Railways , abbreviated as IR , is a departmental undertaking of Government of India, which owns and operates most of India's rail transport. It is overseen by the Ministry of Railways of the Government of India....

. He also served as Chairman of the Madras Port Trust from 1904 to 1920. However, Spring is largely remembered today for championing the cause of the Indian

Indian people

Indian people or Indisians constitute the Asian nation and pan-ethnic group native to India, which forms the south of Asia, containing 17.31% of the world's population. The Indian nationality is in essence made up of regional nationalities, reflecting the rich and complex history of India...

 mathematician

Mathematician

A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....

 Srinivasa Ramanujan

Srinivasa Ramanujan

Srīnivāsa Aiyangār Rāmānujan FRS, better known as Srinivasa Iyengar Ramanujan was a Indian mathematician and autodidact who, with almost no formal training in pure mathematics, made extraordinary contributions to mathematical analysis, number theory, infinite series and continued fractions...

.

Early life and education

Spring was born in Magourney, County Cork

County Cork

County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...

, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....

 on January 20, 1849 to Rev. Edward Spring and his wife Matilda.He was a descendant of the Spring Baronets

Spring Baronets

The Spring Baronetcy, of Pakenham in the County of Suffiolk, is a title in the Baronetage of England.-History:The Spring family were major landowners in East Anglia between the late 15th and the early 18th centuries, when the family’s wealth and status began to go into decline...

 and a relation of Baron Monteagle of Brandon

Baron Monteagle of Brandon

Baron Monteagle of Brandon, in the County of Kerry, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1839 for the Whig politician Thomas Spring Rice. He served as Chancellor of the Exchequer between 1835 and 1839. He was succeeded by his grandson, the second Baron, his eldest son...

.

Spring was educated at Midleton College

Midleton

Midleton, historically Middleton , is a town in south-eastern County Cork, Ireland. It lies some 22 km east of Cork City on the Owenacurra River and the N25 road, which connects Cork to the port of Rosslare...

 and Trinity College, Dublin

Trinity College, Dublin

Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...

. and entered the Indian engineering service in 1870.

Career

Spring served as Consulting Engineer to the Government of India and played a pivotal role in the development of railways in East India

East India

East India is a region of India consisting of the states of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Orissa. The states of Orissa and West Bengal share some cultural and linguistic characteristics with Bangladesh and with the state of Assam. Together with Bangladesh, West Bengal formed the...

. He is credited with the construction of an acclaimed railway bridge across the Godavari River

Godavari River

The Godavari is a river that runs from western to southern India and is considered to be one of the big river basins in India. With a length of 1465 km, it is the second longest river in India , that runs within the country and also the longest river in South India...

.

Upon retirement from the civil service in 1904, Spring was appointed Chairman of the Madras Port Trust and served till 1920.

Honours

For his accomplishments, Spring was made a Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire in 1894 and appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire in 1911. He was a member of the Institute of Civil Engineers, Institute of Mechanical Engineers and American Society of Civil Engineers.Spring was also the first person in Madras city to own a registered automobile.

A tug boat operating in Madras harbour is named Sir Francis Spring, as is the main road leading to the port.

Mentorship of Ramanujan

Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan

Srinivasa Ramanujan

Srīnivāsa Aiyangār Rāmānujan FRS, better known as Srinivasa Iyengar Ramanujan was a Indian mathematician and autodidact who, with almost no formal training in pure mathematics, made extraordinary contributions to mathematical analysis, number theory, infinite series and continued fractions...

worked as a Grade III Class IV clerk from 1912 to 1914 at the Madras Port Trust under Spring's chairmanship. Ramaujan's mathematical talents were espoused to Francis Spring by his chief accountant S. Narayana Iyer. Soon, Spring developed an interest in him and lobbied for government support and sponsorship of his research studies in England.