Lindon Bates

Lindon Wallace Bates, Jr. (born July 17, 1883 in Portland , Oregon , USA ; † May 7, 1915 in the Atlantic Ocean off Ireland ) was an American local politician , engineer and author , who above all for his services to the City of New York and its specialist literature on economic and political matters became known.

Life

Lindon Bates came from a prominent Oregon family. He was the son of Lindon Wallace Bates, Sr. (1858-1924) and his Canadian-born wife Josephine White (1862-1934). The father was a from Vermont derived, at the Yale University -trained civil engineer , author and contractors , among others, on the construction of the Panama Canal involved and in the First World War, Chairman of the Engineering Committee of the Submarine Defense Association was. His mother was a writer, member of the Preparedness Movement and through financial and personal support from the later First Lady Lou Hoover from 1908 a member of the Lyceum Club. His brother, Dr. Lindell Theodore Bates (1890–1937), was a lawyer and published dozens of articles on legal issues in a variety of publications.

Bates was a grandson of shipbuilder William Wallace Bates (1826-1911), who was from 1889 to 1892 United States Commissioner of Navigation, and his wife Marie Cole. Bates attended Harrow School in Harrow , London, and then Yale University in New Haven , Connecticut , where he studied history, engineering and political economy . He graduated with a Bachelor of Philosophy degree in 1902. As an engineer, Bates mainly devoted himself to hydraulic engineering projects in New York. One of his most famous projects was the construction of the New York State Barge Canal, now known as the New York State Canal System. This sewer works was a cornerstone for the fresh water supply and sanitation of the city of New York.

Together with engineer PC Goedhart, Bates designed a large-scale pump system in Galveston , Texas , still known today as "The Grade Raising". After the great Galveston storm in 1900, which left many people dead, protective measures were developed to avoid such disasters in the future. The most important were the Galveston Seawall, a ten-mile long protective wall, and Grade Raising, which was supposed to ensure the distribution and rapid drainage of incoming seawater.

Bates also excelled as an author of relevant specialist literature. His best-known books include The Political Horoscope (1904), The Loss Of Water In The New York Distribution System (1909), The Russian Road To China (1910) and The Path Of The Conquistadores (1912). 1904 went Lindon Bates into politics and was established in 1908 as a Republican in the New York State Assembly voted, the Parliament of the State of New York . His areas of responsibility included A. Public service reforms and property rights. He later switched to the Progressive Party . In 1912 and 1914 he ran unsuccessfully for Congress .

He was Vice President of the Bates Engineering Company in New York and also worked as a management consultant for various corporations such as the Western Engineering Corporation, the Denver Mining Investment Company, the Laguintos Oil Company, the Maikop Areas and the Trinidad Cedros Oil Company. He was also a member of the Western Society of Engineers, the Société Royale Belge des Ingenieurs et Industriels, the American Society of Civil Engineers and trustee of the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York. When the First World War broke out, Bates became involved in humanitarian aid in Europe. He supported the charity American Commission for Relief in Belgium and became a member of the Executive Committee of the London office of this organization. Bate's father was the vice president of that organization and his brother was vice chairman.

Bates traveled to Europe on the British ocean liner RMS Lusitania in May 1915 to help set up the American Commission For Relief In Belgium in Belgium. He occupied the first-class cab E-69. Also on board was a close friend of Bates, Major F. Warren Pearl of New York with family. When the ship was torpedoed and sank off the coast of County Cork, Ireland on May 7, 1915 , Bates helped Major Pearl and his wife find their four children. Bates was killed in the sinking and his body was never found. His name was on the list of missing US passengers published on May 10th. His brother Lindell went to Queenstown , Ireland , to look for his brother. A memorial service was held in New York on June 10, 1915.

swell

• Biographical details about Lindon Bates
• The Grand Raising construction project
• Class Book of 1902 S., Yale University, p. 17
• Obituary Record of Graduates of Yale University, Deceased during the year ending July 1, 1915, 895

Individual evidence

1. ^ New York Times: Progressives Start State Organization (June 30, 1912)