William Crichton (engineer), Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

William Crichton (engineer)

Scottish-Finnish industrialist

Date of Birth: 29-Mar-1827

Place of Birth: Leith, Scotland, United Kingdom

Date of Death: 10-Apr-1889

Profession: businessperson, engineer

Zodiac Sign: Aries

William Crichton (29 November 1827 – 10 April 1889) was a Scottish engineer and shipbuilder who spent most of his career in Turku, located in the Grand Duchy of Finland. Crichton moved to Turku at the age of 23 to lead a steam engine construction project at Cowie and Eriksson, a local engineering company.
After two years, he moved to Helsinki to work for Fiskars, but because of the Crimean War he was arrested due to his nationality and transferred to Saint Petersburg.
He was soon released with help from family connections and he remained working for Izhorsk Works for eight years. In 1862, Crichton returned to Turku after receiving an offer to buy half of Cowie & Eriksson Company.
The company was renamed W:m Crichton & C:o and under Crichton's leadership it developed into the largest company in Turku.
The company built predominantly ships and steam engines and its main customer was the Imperial Russian Navy. Crichton led the company until his death in 1889.
He was survived by twelve children who soon sold the company to investors.
Crichton's name remained in use until 1965.