abstract:William Froude (;Merriam Webster Online (for brother James Anthony Froude) 28 November 1810 in Devon] – 4 May 1879 in [[Simonstown, South Africa) was an English engineer, hydrodynamicist and naval architect. He was the first to formulate reliable laws for the resistance that water offers to ships (such as the hull speed equation) and for predicting their stability.