On November 26th 1836 John McAdam, the inventor of the "tar macadam" road surface, died.
Although born in Ayrshire, McAdam had been a colonist in America, but returned after the American War of Independence, having supported the Crown. As a Deputy-Lieutenant in Ayrshire, he despaired at the condition of the roads, and began experimenting with different methods of road surfacing. He finally settled on a technique of using layers of crushed stone, the surface was coated with tar. While the tar was still hot, the surface was covered with stone chippings evenly spread. A steamroller then rolled the surface to embed the chippings in the hot tar and complete the job.
McAdam never patented his method and made no real money out of his invention, Parliament eventually awarded him some payment, but he was never completely compensated for his work or received royalties. Towards the end of his life John was offered knighthood for his work. He turned down the honour due to his age, but passed on the honour to his son.
