John F. Stevens—A Great Civil Engineer
Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 126, Issue 5
Abstract
In 1927 John F. Stevens was elected president of the American Society of Civil Engineers, and in so doing the Society honored a great engineer, a great builder, and a man who truly loved the practice of civil engineering. Stevens was a self-trained engineer and constructor who directed some of the great construction efforts of the 19th and 20th centuries. In his early years, Stevens was engaged in the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway, first with the contractors and then for the railway company directly. Two presidents thought so highly of his engineering skill that they appointed him to lead major construction efforts in the early 20th century. President Theodore Roosevelt made him chief engineer of the Isthmian (Panama) Canal work, and Wilson sent him to Russia in 1917, as chairman of a commission of railway engineers to rehabilitate and operate rail lines in Siberia. This narrative traces his adventures and growth as an engineer, but it also provides guidance as to how an engineer develops his capabilities in order to handle greater challenges.
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References
1.
Bennett, I. E., ed. ( 1914). History of the Panama Canal: Its construction and builders, Historical Publishing Co., Washington, D.C.
2.
Engineering News-Record. June 10, 3.
3.
McCullough, D. ( 1977). The path between the seas, Simon and Schuster, New York.
4.
Stevens, J. F. ( 1935). “An engineer's recollections II.” Engineering News-Record, Mar. 28, 450–452.
5.
Stevens, J. F. ( 1935). “An engineer's recollections III.” Engineering News-Record, April 11, 521–524.
6.
Stevens, J. F. ( 1935). “An engineer's recollections V.” Engineering News-Record, May 9, 672–675.
7.
Stevens, J. F. ( 1935). “An engineer's recollections IX.” Engineering News-Record, Aug. 15, 216–217.
8.
Stevens, J. F. ( 1935). “An engineer's recollections XIII.” Engineering News-Record, Nov. 28, 740–742.
9.
Stevens, J. F., Jr. ( 1951). Speech before the Panama Canal Society, Washington, D.C., 19 May.
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Received: Nov 19, 1999
Published online: Oct 1, 2000
Published in print: Oct 2000
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