Sir Robert McAlpine, 1st Baronet (13 February 1847 in Forth, Lanarkshire - 3 November 1934), known as "Concrete Bob", founded the British construction firm now known as Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd.

McAlpine was born in Newarthill

Newarthill

Newarthill is a village in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, situated roughly three miles north-west of the town of Motherwell. It has a population of around 7,800. The Member of Parliament for the local area is Pamela Nash. The Member of the Scottish Parliament for the local area is Michael McMahon...

, North Lanarkshire

North Lanarkshire

North Lanarkshire is one of 32 council areas in Scotland. It borders onto the northeast of the City of Glasgow and contains much of Glasgow's suburbs and commuter towns and villages. It also borders Stirling, Falkirk, East Dunbartonshire, West Lothian and South Lanarkshire...

, Scotland, and left school at the age of 10 to work in a coal mine, but became an apprentice bricklayer

Bricklayer

A bricklayer or mason is a craftsman who lays bricks to construct brickwork. The term also refers to personnel who use blocks to construct blockwork walls and other forms of masonry. In British and Australian English, a bricklayer is colloquially known as a "brickie".The training of a trade in...

. He was involved in the building of roads, public buildings and other works, some of the tunnelling for the Glasgow Subway

Glasgow Subway

The Glasgow Subway is an underground metro line in Glasgow, Scotland. Opened on 14 December 1896, it is the third-oldest underground metro system in the world after the London Underground and the Budapest Metro. Formerly a cable railway, the Subway was later electrified, but its twin circular lines...

 and the Singer Sewing Machine factory in Clydebank

Clydebank

Clydebank is a town in West Dunbartonshire, in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, Clydebank borders Dumbarton, the town with which it was combined to form West Dunbartonshire, as well as the town of Milngavie in East Dunbartonshire, and the Yoker and...

, West Dunbartonshire

West Dunbartonshire

West Dunbartonshire is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. Bordering onto the west of the City of Glasgow, containing many of Glasgow's commuter towns and villages as well as the city's suburbs, West Dunbartonshire also borders onto Argyll and Bute, Stirling, East...

. Overseas, in 1918 McAlpine was contracted to expand the harbour in Heraklion

Heraklion

Heraklion, or Heraclion is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete, Greece. It is the 4th largest city in Greece....

, Crete

Crete

Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...

. The power station built for the purpose was later used to provide the town's electricity.

McAlpine built up the large building and civil engineering

Civil engineering

Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...

 firm that bears his name; it continues to exist today. He was also a pioneer in the use of concrete

Concrete

Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...

 and labour-saving machinery.

He was made a baronet

Baronet

A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...

in 1918. His son, also Robert McAlpine, succeeded him as baronet upon his death in 1934, but died less than two weeks later.