British engineer, born in Edinburgh, Scotland. In 1838 he joined with his father, Robert Stevenson, and his brother, David, in lighthouse construction, making a particular study of improving illumaination system for light-houses. In 1864 he designed the Stevenson screen for thermometers and made several other contributions to meteorology. Sir Thomas Stevenson was the father of the author Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-94) who, to the great disappointment of his father, showed no interest in engineering.