1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Reid, Sir William

REID, SIR WILLIAM (1791-1858), Scottish administrator and man of science, was born on the 25th of April 1791 at the manse of Kinglassie, Fifeshire, and entered the Royal Engineers in 1809. He saw active service in the Peninsula under Wellington, and took part in the bombardment of Algiers in 1816. In 1835 and 1836 he again saw active service, in Spain against Don Carlos. In 1838 he published his Attempt to develop the Law of Storms, which obtained wide popularity. In 1839 he was appointed governor of the Bermudas, where he did much to develop the agricultural resources of the islands, and in 1846 he was transferred to Barbados. In 1850-51 he was chairman of the executive committee of the Great Exhibition; on the completion of the work he was made a K.C.B. and appointed governor of Malta. He died in London on the 31st of October 1858.