John MacAdam was born in Ayr in 1756. When he was fourteen he moved to New York and made his fortune working at his uncle's counting-house.

On his return to Scotland in 1783 MacAdam purchased an estate at Sauchrie, Ayrshire, and started experimenting with a new method of road construction. When he was appointed surveyor to the Bristol Turnpike Trust in 1816 he remade the roads under his control with crushed stone bound with gravel on a firm base of large stones. A camber, making the road slightly convex, ensured the rainwater rapidly drained off the road and did not penetrate the foundations. This way of building roads later became known as the Macadamized system.

As a result of his success, MacAdam was made surveyor-general of metropolitan roads in England. By the end of the 19th century, most of the main roads in Europe were built in this way. John MacAdam died in 1836.

	Enter your search terms Submit search form
	Web www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk