Meriwether Lewis Walker
Meriwether Lewis Walker (born September 30, 1869 in Lynchburg , Virginia , † July 29, 1947 in Vineyard Haven , Massachusetts ) was an American engineer and colonel in the US Army , who was governor of the Panama Canal Zone between 1924 and 1928 .
Life
After attending school, he entered the US Military Academy at West Point and graduated in 1893. He then studied at the US Army Engineer School and graduated as an engineer in 1896. After several subsequent assignments as an engineer in army units, he became director of the US Army Field Engineering School in 1912, before he was professor of practical military engineering at the US Military Academy at West Point between 1914 and 1916 .
Walker was then chief engineer in punitive expeditions to Mexico and then became chief engineer of the American Expeditionary Force in France after the USA entered the First World War in 1917 . After his return to the United States, he was an instructor at the US Army War College in Carlisle between 1919 and 1920 , was promoted to colonel on July 1, 1920 during this service and retired from active military service.
He then moved to the administration of the Panama Canal Zone and was chief engineer there between 1921 and 1924. In 1924 he succeeded Jay Johnson Morrow as governor of the Panama Canal Zone and held this position until he was replaced by Harry Burgess in 1928.
Walker, who was considered the most cautious governor, was active in all areas of the administration of the canal zone and, like the former governor George Washington Goethals, had an astonishing memory and extensive knowledge of the smallest details. During his tenure, traffic in the Panama Canal grew significantly, so he foresaw the need for expansion. In addition, he noted the need for an additional water supply through the Río Chagres . To this end, he led Martin B. Madden , a long-time Republican member of the US House of Representatives from Illinois , into the jungle of Alhajuela in 1925 and showed this possible places for a dam . After the reservoir was completed, it was named after Martin B. Madden for his support for the construction project in Madden Lake.
In between, Walker also pushed ahead with deepening the canal entrance to the Pacific Ocean and the port basin of Balboa . In addition, the first steps towards controlled flooding of the Río Chagres were taken during his tenure and an additional power plant was built on the artificial lake Miraflores . Eventually he initiated a general clean-up and dredging program to cope with the growing traffic in the canal zone.
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| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Walker, Meriwether Lewis |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American Army Officer and Governor of the Panama Canal Zone |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 30, 1869 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Lynchburg , Virginia |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 29, 1947 |
| Place of death | Vineyard Haven , Massachusetts |