John McAdam
Gravel road inventor
John McAdam (1756–1836) was a Scottish engineer who revolutionized road construction.
His method, called macadamization, involved layering broken stones of uniform size over a raised, well-drained roadbed, creating durable surfaces that could withstand heavy traffic and weather.
The common noun macadam and the verb macadamize derive from his name.
Tarmac, short for tarmacadam, refers to roads surfaced with tar-bound macadam.
- road surfacePaved driving layer
- tarmacPaved airport surface
- roadsPaved paths for vehicles
- paved roadsHard-surfaced thoroughfares
- pavementHard road covering
gravel · asphalt · Scottish · engineer · stones · highway · turnpike · toll roads · carriageway · horse and carriage · crushed · surface · construction · tar · crushed stone · bitumen · paving · roadbuilding
- British InnovatorsJames Watt, George Stephenson, Michael Faraday, Thomas Telford, Charles Babbage
- Scottish ThinkersAdam Smith, David Hume, Duns Scotus
- tycoonsoil tycoon, tycoons, railroad tycoon, magnates, moguls
John McAdamdirt roads
Unpaved travel surfaces
mud tracks · concrete pavers · Thomas Telford · Luddites · cobblestone