Durley, R. J. (Richard John), 1868-

Richard John Durley, an engineer, was born on February 11, 1868, Bierton, Buckinghamshire, England.

He was educated at Bedford Modern School, University College, Bristol, and University College, London, and received his practical training with Earle's Shipbuilding and Engineering Company Ltd., Hull, England. In 1893, he was awarded a Whitworth scholarship and in 1894, he became a chief lecturer in engineering at the Municipal Technical College in Hull. In 1896, he emigrated to Canada and became a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at McGill University (1901–1912). In 1903, he wrote a widely used textbook “Kinematics of Machines” (1903). He was made a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1905, one of three commission members for the design of the University of British Columbia and, during World War I, Officer-in-Charge of Gauges and Standards in the Canadian Ministry of Munitions Department of Inspection.

In 1918, he was awarded an MBE (Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) for his wartime services in Canada. In 1919, he was appointed a founding vice-chairman and secretary of the Canadian Engineering Standards Committee, Secretary of the Canadian Engineering Standards Association and in 1925, he became Secretary of the Engineering Institute of Canada until his retirement in 1938. Durley was also editor of the Engineering Institute of Canada's Engineering Journal between 1925 and 1938, and a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He was a regular contributor to engineering journals and a member of the University Club of Montreal and the Rideau Club in Ottawa. In 1941, he received the Engineering Institute of Canada's Julian C. Smith Medal.

In 1903, he married Elizabeth Schevill, or, Schwill, or, Schvill of New York. He died on August 13, 1948, in Montreal, Quebec.

http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n2006091466