Sir Edward Reed

Sir Edward James Reed KCB FRS
"Naval Construction". Caricature by Ape published in Vanity Fair in 1875.
Member of the United Kingdom Parliament for Pembroke
In office 1874–1880
Preceded by	Thomas Meyrick
Succeeded by	Henry George Allen
Member of the United Kingdom Parliament for Cardiff
In office 1880–1895
Preceded by	James Crichton-Stuart
Succeeded by	James Mackenzie Maclean
Member of the United Kingdom Parliament for Cardiff
In office 1900–1906
Preceded by	James Mackenzie Maclean
Succeeded by	Ivor Guest
Personal details
Born	(1830-09-20)20 September 1830 Sheerness, Kent, England
Died	30 November 1906(1906-11-30) (aged 76) The Strand, London, England
Cause of death	Heart failure
Resting place	Putney Vale Cemetery
Political party	Liberal

Sir Edward James Reed (20 September 1830 – 30 November 1906), KCB, FRS, was a British naval architect, author, politician, and railroad magnate. He was the Chief Constructor of the Royal Navy from 1863 until 1870. He was a Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1874 to 1906.

Edward Reed was born in Sheerness, Kent and was the son of John and Elizabeth Reed. He was a naval apprentice at Sheerness and subsequently entered the School of Mathematics and Naval Construction at Portsmouth. In 1851 he married Rosetta, the sister of Nathaniel Barnaby. Barnaby was at that time a fellow student; he would subsequently succeed Reed as Chief Constructor. In 1852 he entered employment at Sheerness Dockyard, but resigned after a disagreement with the management. He then worked in journalism, including editing the Mechanic's Magazine. In 1860, Reed was appointed secretary of the newly formed Institute of Naval Architects.

In 1863, at the early age of 33, succeeded Isaac Watts as Chief Constructor. His term of office saw the final transition from wooden to ironclad warships. Notable warships constructed under his direction included:

His tenure was marred by intense controversy with the naval officer, MP and inventor Captain Cowper Phipps Coles. This culminated in the funding by Parliament of a new battleship, HMS Captain, to be built to Coles' requirement without reference to Reed's department and contrary to his advice. Embittered, Reed resigned in July 1870. "His departure was described as a national disaster by the Controller, Vice-Admiral Robert Spencer Robinson." The following September, the Captain foundered in a gale with the loss of nearly 500 lives, including Captain Coles.