Robert Bald

Robert Bald
Robert Bald, painted by Sir John Watson Gordon
Born	1776 Culross, Perthshire (now Fife), Scotland
Died	1861 Clackmannanshire
Nationality	Scottish
Parent(s)	Alexander Bald
Engineering career
Discipline	Civil Mining
Institutions	Royal Society of Edinburgh Society of Antiquaries of Scotland Geological Society of London Institution of Civil Engineers Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland Wernerian Natural History Society Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society Royal Scottish Society of Arts Association for the Promotion of Fine Arts in Scotland Society of Scottish Land Surveyors
Projects	Göta Canal Geological Map for Scotland

Robert Bald FRSE FSA MWS (1776–1861) was a Scottish surveyor, civil and mining engineer, and antiquarian. He was born in Culross, Scotland, the son of Alexander Bald (1753–1823), a colliery agent of Alloa. Robert Bald was one of the earliest and most eminent mining engineers and land surveyors in Scotland, and by the late Nineteenth Century he was referred to as "the acknowledged father of mining engineering in Scotland". His brother was Alexander Bald, poet and friend of James Hogg.

Robert Bald apprenticed to his father Alexander, the superintendent and manager of the Mar collieries. The pair can be seen as forming 'something of a "school" of viewers', and a Scottish equivalent of the Buddle family of viewers of northern England. He combined two qualities vital for colliery direction: a deep practical knowledge with a respect for scientific enquiry (he contributed to the Edinburgh Philosophical Journal among other learned publications). Bald seems to have begun his consultative work around the turn of the century, by 1805 his advice was in great demand throughout Scottish coalfields, and he was called upon by both parties of dispute in court and by judges. In 1808 Bald travelled with Thomas Telford (1757–1834) to survey the Göta Canal from Lake Mälaren (Stockholm) to the lakes of Vänern and Vättern in central Sweden.

Between 1808 and 1825, Bald published reports (NAS ref. CB27) on the mineral deposits, workings, buildings and drainage at collieries across Scotland. One of Bald's earliest publications was A General View of the Coal Trade in Scotland (1808). In 1812 David Brewster commissioned Bald to write the 'mine' entry for the 'Edinburg Encyclopaedia', a task that involved visiting the colliery at Killingworth where George Stephenson had introduced steam powered machine for raising coal from the pit face. Bald was elected a member of the Royal Society in 1817 and started working in general practise as a mining engineer in Edinburgh around 1820 with John Geddes. Bald and John Buddle share the credit for being the first to direct attention to the dangerous, highly flammable nature of coal dust. Bald pointed out the danger of the ignition of coal dust in a paper in Jameson's Journal, 1828. Bald was a cousin of William Bald (1789–1857) the civil engineer and cartographer, and acted as sponsor for William's membership of the Royal Society in 1829.