The life of a great practical engineer, whose labours cover the last sixty years of the nineteenth century, might without irrelevance be made the occasion of writing a history of modern engineering. It was Sir John Fowler's business to utilise, in the interest of his clients, the inventions and discoveries of a most prolific half-century of progress, and an enumeration of these would in itself constitute a very complete chronicle of the advance of engineering science.<br><br>In such a treatment of the subject the vastness of the details must have overwhelmed the features of any single personality, however eminent, and no such ambitious task has here been attempted. It has been the author's endeavour to sketch the lights and shades of a strong and interesting character, and to indicate the particular subdivision of scientific function to which Sir John Fowler's energies were so successfully devoted.<br><br>A great organiser, like Sir John Fowler, appeals perhaps less strongly to the imagination than the great discoverer or inventor. Still, his work is an indispensable element in that most important task - the domestication of science for the public service.