self-acquired

Updated: July 8, 2026

But probably this is to be accounted for by the circumstance of his education being entirely practical, and mainly self-acquired. When a young man was on one occasion recommended to him as a pupil because of his proficiency in mathematics, the engineer expressed the opinion that such acquirements were no recommendation.

Samuel Smiles - The Life of Thomas Telford; civil engineer with an introductory history of roads and travelling in Great Britain