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{{Short description|Irish civil engineer (1839-1909)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Sir Francis Langford O'Callaghan
| honorific_suffix = [[Order of St Michael and St George|KCMG]]
| image = Sir Francis Langford O'Callaghan KCMG (22 July 1839 - 14 November 1909).png
| birth_date = 22 July 1839
| birth_place = [[County Cork]]
| death_date = 14 November 1909 (aged 70)
| death_place = [[Guildford]]
| occupation = Civil engineer
| years_active = 1859-1903
| children = 1 son
}}

'''Sir Francis Langford O'Callaghan''' [[Order of St Michael and St George|KCMG]] (22 July 1839 – 14 November 1909) was an Irish civil engineer who spent most of his career in the construction of railways in India.

== Early life and education ==
Francis Langford O'Callaghan was born in Drisheen, [[County Cork]], Ireland on 22 July 1839. He was educated privately, and at [[University College Cork|Queen's College, Cork]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite ODNB |title=O'Callaghan, Sir Francis Langford (1839–1909), civil engineer |url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/display/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-35282 |access-date=2024-07-31 |date=2004 |language=en |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/35282 |last1=Kerr |first1=Ian J. }}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Adam & Charles Black |url=http://archive.org/details/whowaswhovol1who0000noau |title=Who Was Who. Vol 1: Who Was Who 1897-1915 |date=1966-01-01 |publisher=Adam & Charles Black |others=Internet Archive |pages=533}}</ref>

== Career ==
He trained as a civil engineer with [[Henry Conybeare]] from 1859 to 1862 whilst working on railway construction in Ireland and in South Wales.<ref name=":0" />

In 1862, he joined the Indian Public Works Department, after competitive examination, and rose through various grades. He was appointed probationary Assistant Engineer on 13 June 1862, Executive Engineer on 1 April 1866, and Superintending Engineer (First Class) in March 1886. On 9 May 1889, he rose to the position of Chief Engineer (First Class) and Consulting Engineer to the Government of India for State Railways, and in 1892, he became Secretary to the Government of India Public Works Department. He retired from Indian service in 1894.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite news |date=15 November 1909 |title=Sir Francis O'Callaghan |work=[[The Times]] |pages=15}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite news |date=25 November 1909 |title=Social And Personal |url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/pinangazette19091125-1.2.19 |work=Pinang Gazette and Straits Chronicle |pages=4}}</ref>

In September 1895, after returning to England, he was appointed by the [[Colonial Office]] as a managing member of the [[Uganda]] Railway Committee, and held the position until the committee was dissolved on 30 September 1903.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />

He built several State railways in India. In 1887 to 1889, he designed and partly constructed the railway through the [[Khojak Pass]] to the frontier with [[Afghanistan]]. A few years earlier, he received the [[Order of the Indian Empire|C.I.E.]] for the construction of a bridge across the [[Indus River|Indus]] at [[Attock]], and later he received the [[Order of the Star of India|C.S.I.]] for building a railway through the [[Bolan Pass]] to [[Quetta]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" />

He became a member of the [[Institution of Civil Engineers]] in 1872. He was also a fellow of the [[Royal Geographical Society]]. He was a director of the [[History of rail transport in Myanmar|Burma Railway Company]] and the Egyptian Delta Light Railway Company. He published in 1865 "''Bidder's Earthwork Tables, intended and adapted for the Use of the Public Works Department in India''".<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" />

== Personal life and death ==
O'Callaghan married Anna Powell in 1875 and they had a son. He died in [[Guildford]] on 14 November 1909, and was buried at [[Holy Trinity Church, Guildford]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" />

== Honours ==
In the [[1902 Coronation Honours]], O'Callaghan was appointed Knight Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George ([[Order of St Michael and St George|KCMG]]). He was also awarded the Order of the Indian Empire ([[Order of the Indian Empire|CIE]]) and the Order of the Star of India ([[Order of the Star of India|CSI]]).<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />

== References ==
<references />

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{{DEFAULTSORT:OCallaghan, Francis Langford}}
[[Category:1839 births]]
[[Category:1909 deaths]]
[[Category:Irish civil engineers]]
[[Category:Engineers from County Cork]]
[[Category:Irish people in rail transport]]
[[Category:Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George]]

Francis Langford O'Callaghan - Revision history

ArleneBelmore12: created basic data first draft