F.H. Chapman: The First Naval Architect and His Work

From Introduction: No historian of naval architecture can avoid mention of the 18th century Swedish shipbuilder Fredrik Henrik Chapman, an Enlightenment figure other almost unheard-of outside Scandinavia. The foremost ship designer of his time, he owed his dominance to his extensive scientific trainings. He was the first to build ships on scientific principles, and his books far superior to the work of his contemporaries, became the basic texts of his profession. Chapman was responsible for changing ship construction from a traditional craft to an industry based on the application of scientific principle to the solution of design and construction problems.