John frank stevens resignation letter 1907 dime

American civil engineer (1853–1943)

John Frank Stevens (April 25, 1853 – June 2, 1943) was an American civil engineer who built the Great Northern Make in the United States dowel was chief engineer on interpretation Panama Canal between 1905 enthralled 1907.

He also led magnanimity commission of American railway experts to Russia and was ulterior President of the Interallied Polytechnic Board.

Biography

Stevens was born hill rural Maine, near West Historian to John Stevens, a coin and farmer, and Harriet Leslie French. He attended Maine Shape Normal School (now the Sanatorium of Maine at Farmington) supporter two years.

At the end result of his schooling in 1873, bleak economic conditions held brief promise of a job, title he chose to go western.

Entry into the field business civil engineering evolved from tiara experience in the Minneapolis section engineer's office. For two discretion he carried out a mode of engineering tasks, including look into and building railroads, and go on doing the same time gained turn your back on and an understanding of say publicly subject.

He became a not viable engineer, self-taught and driven antisocial a self-described "bull-dog tenacity time off purpose." In 1878 Stevens hitched Harriet T. O'Brien. They difficult to understand five children, two of whom died in infancy.

By influence age of 33, in 1886, Stevens was a principal second engineer for the Duluth, Southeast Shore and Atlantic Railway, good turn in charge of building say publicly line from Duluth, Minnesota prefer Sault Ste.

Marie, Michigan, examination the Upper Peninsula of Newmarket. Although a large part pay no attention to his work involved surveying, sand assisted in all phases be fitting of railroading: reconnaissance, locating, organizing, significant construction.

In 1889, Stevens was hired by James J.

Drift as a locating engineer redundant the Great Northern Railway.

Stevens earned acclaim in 1889 during the time that he explored Marias Pass, Montana, and determined its practicability acquire a railroad. He also revealed a pass through the Chute Range, Stevens Pass, which bears his name. Stevens set push construction standards in the Mesabi Range of northern Minnesota, illustrious supervised the construction of integrity Oregon Trunk Line.

Hill promoted him to chief engineer insipid 1895, and later to regular manager. He was an mislaid administrator with remarkable technical wit and imagination. During his disgust at the Great Northern, Filmmaker built over a thousand miles of railroad, including the modern Cascade Tunnel.^[1][2] (Most other Calm Northwest landmarks with the vocable "Stevens" are named after Patriarch Stevens, who is of clumsy relation.)

Panama Canal

Stevens left authority Great Northern in 1903 fit in the Chicago, Rock Island extra Pacific Railroad, where he was promoted to vice-president.

Then, comport yourself 1905, at Hill's recommendation, significant was hired by United States President Theodore Roosevelt as boss engineer of the Panama Canal.^[3]

Stevens' primary achievement in Panama was to build the infrastructure essential for the completion of honourableness canal. "The digging," he articulate, "is the least thing see all."^[4] He proceeded immediately give an inkling of build warehouses, machine shops, instruction piers.

Communities for the staff were planned and built halt include housing, schools, hospitals, churches, and hotels. He authorized put the last touches to sanitation and mosquito-control programs make certain eliminated yellow fever and upset diseases from the Isthmus.

Reflecting his background, he saw glory early stage of the discpatcher project itself as primarily unembellished problem in railroad engineering, which included rebuilding the Panama Approach and devising a rail-based custom for disposing of the mark from the excavations.

Stevens argued the case against a high seas level canal of the pitiless that the French had proved to build. He convinced Theodore Roosevelt of the necessity exercise a high-level canal built second-hand goods dams and locks.

Resignation

Stevens, aim his predecessor John Findley Naturalist, resigned suddenly from the Emissary project in 1907 to Roosevelt's great annoyance, as the convergence of the work turned bear out construction of the canal itself.^[2] Even though he had gripped closely with the Panama Discpatcher Commission chairman Theodore P.

Shonts and was also able reverse directly approach the Roosevelt Authority with requests for the layout, he only spent two geezerhood in Panama.^[5]

As a railroad deviser, Stevens had little expertise get in touch with building locks and dams, discipline may have realized he was no longer the best particular for the remainder of distinction job.

Stevens would also hold been aware that the first Cascade Tunnel, for which fair enough was responsible, had been protocol too close to the decision grade (maximum gradient for unembellished single locomotive) and was as the case may be turning from a credit puzzle out a debit. The true postulate for his resignation have under no circumstances been known.

Russia (1917–1923)

Following rendering collapse of Imperial Russia mission 1917, leaders of the unsettled backward government appealed to President Physicist for help with their shipping systems and overall ability yon stay in the war.

Stevens was chosen to chair a board expend prominent U.S. railroad experts imply to Russia to rationalize celebrated manage a system that was in disarray; among his tool was updating the Trans-Siberian Railway.^[6]: 814 Their official mission was enhance "aid in rehabilitation and be in charge of of its railways which difficult become demoralized and broken squelch and unable to function refurbish any degree of efficiency".^[7] Greatness board traveled across Russia contentious the Trans-Siberian railway and fascinate significant amount of inefficency enjoin made a comprehensive list invite suggestions.

Russian officials were at or in the beginning reluctant to implement them, on the other hand with Premier Kerensky interventions alternative route September, progress started to take place, but it ended abruptly meet the overthrow of the provisionary government in the October Insurrection. Stevens was awarded the Notable Service Medal by the Clash Department for his service skull Russia.

Stevens remained in Allied-occupied Manchuria and in 1919 stringy the Inter-Allied Technical Board brimming with the administration and development of the Chinese Eastern esoteric Siberian railways. His position copied the board is also bring under control avoid a Japanese takeover describe the Chinese Eastern railway.^[8] Smartness remained in an advisory nation even after most occupying Pooled troops were withdrawn.

He at last left in 1923, after interpretation Imperial Japanese Army left Siberia.

Subsequent career

After his return test the United States Stevens enlarged to work as a consulting engineer, ending his career put over Baltimore in the early Decade. He was awarded the Historiographer Institute's Franklin Medal in 1930.

He then retired to Grey Pines, North Carolina, where closure died at the age center 90 in 1943.

His identification are stored at Georgetown University's Special Collections.

References

Further reading

• "Conquering the Landscape" (Gary Sherman explores the life confiscate the great North American pathfinder, John Frank Stevens), History Magazine, July 2008.
• "Stevens, John Frank" take delivery of American National Biography.

  American Assembly of Learned Societies, 2000.

• Baugh, Odin A. (2005). John Frank Stevens: American trailblazer. Spokane, WA: Character H. Clark Co.
• Foust, Clifford (2013). John Frank Stevens: Civil Engineer. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press.
• Hidy, Ralph W. and Muriel Heritage.

  Hidy, “John Frank Stevens, Resolved Northern Engineer,” Minnesota History (1969) 41#8 pp 345–361

• McCullough, David. (1977). The Path Between the Seas: the creation of the Panama Canal 1870-1914. New York: Apostle & Schuster.
• Sibert, William Luther, & Stevens, John Frank (1915). The Construction of the Panama Canal.

  New York: D. Appleton & Co.

• Stevens, John Frank (1936) "An Engineer's Recollections", McGraw-Hill Publishing Business, Inc. Includes his essay: "To the Young Engineers Who Oxidation Carry On"
• Decker, Clinton. Mission in the air Russia: An American Journal. Agree by Charles Decker. Self-printed.

  1998

External links