bottom-flange area, A (inch²): His expertise with beams led to his retention, along with Fairbairn, as consultant on the novel tubular design for the Britannia Bridge. Fairbairn built and tested several prototypes, and developed the final form adopted for the bridge. Both Hodgkinson and Robert Stephenson believed that extra chains would be needed to support the heavy spans, so the towers were built with spaces for the chains. Fairbairn, however, insisted that chains would not be necessary, and his opinion prevailed. He was right, and chains were never used, but the towers remain with their empty recesses. Later years Hodgkinson was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1841 and, in 1847, he became professor of the mechanical principles of engineering at University College London. In 1849, he was appointed by the UK Parliament to participate in a Royal Commission to investigate the application of iron in railroad structures, performing some early investigations of metal fatigue. Towards the end of his life, his mental faculties failed and he died at Higher Broughton, Salford. See also Box girder Cylinder stress References Bibliography Report of the Commissioners Appointed to Enquire into the Application of Iron to Railway Structures (1849) cmd. 1123, HMSO Petroski, H. (1994) Design Paradigms: Case Histories of Error and Judgement in Engineering Rawson, R (1865) "Memoir of Eaton Hodgkinson", Transactions of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, vol II, reprinted in Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution (1868), pp203–230 Timoshenko, S. P. (1953) History of Strength of Materials, pp126–129 1789 births 1861 deaths English Anglicans Fellows of the Royal Society English engineers 19th-century English mathematicians People from Northwich British structural engineers Academics of University College London People educated at Sir John Deane's College Royal Medal winners Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society