Sir William Arrol (1839-1913), Scottish civil engineer. Arrol began work at the age of 9 in a thread factory, but was later apprenticed to a blacksmith before becoming a foreman at a boiler- and bridge-making company. At 29 he set up his own business as a boiler maker and by 1872 had constructed a large works for making iron for bridges. His company rebuilt the Tay Rail Bridge in Dundee (replacing one that had collapsed in a storm 1879), the Forth Rail Bridge near Edinburgh and the Nile Bridge in Egypt. His company was also involved in the construction of Tower Bridge in London. He was knighted in 1890 and elected as a Member of Parliament in 1895.