GORRINGE

GORRINGE 11.08. 1841 Bridgetown/BB 07.07. 1885 New York NY/USA Henry Honeychurch Gorringe was born in the West Indies. He came to USA at an early age and entered the merchant marine service. He served through the Civil War with distinction, rising in rank from a common sailor to lieutenant commander in 1868. He commanded the sloop Portsmouth in the South Atlantic, and from 1876 to 1878 the Gettysburg in the Mediterranean. When the Egyptian government presented the obelisk to the USA, Gorringe was given charge of transporting it to America. William H. Vanderbilt paid for the expense of its removal more than 100,000 US$. Gorringe dug it out of the old location by removing 1,300 m3 of earth. Then, by an ingenious device of his own invention, lowered it to a horizontal position and cut a hole in the iron steamer Dessoug, purchased from the Egyptian government, through which the obelisk was placed in the hold. The 20 m shaft, which was erected by Thothmes III at Heliopolis about 1600 B.C., was removed to Alexandria in 22 B.C. It has been claimed that the stone has masonic markings on its base. It was finally erected in 1881 at Central Park, New York NY. He wrote Egyptian obelisks dealing with the expedition to retrieve the obelisk, and a study of the other obelisks in Paris and London. In 1862 Gorringe enlisted in the Union Navy as able-bodied seaman, and was attached to the Mississippi squadron three months later. By 1865 he had risen through successive promotions for gallantry to the rank of acting-volunteer lieutenant. He was promoted to Lieutenant Commander in 1868, and from 1869 until 1871 was the commander of the South Atlantic Squadron's sloop USS Portsmouth. He was engaged in the hydrographic office at Washington DC from 1872 to 1876. Subsequently Gorringe criticized naval matters in public, and when called to account, offered his resignation, which was accepted. He then entered the shipbuilding field, but his venture failed. He was member of Anglo-Saxon Lodge No. 137 of New York City. The lodge at one time tendered him a reception. He died as the result of an accident while jumping from a moving train. His friends erected a miniature copy of Cleopatra’s Needle over his grave. Anonymous (1885). Henry H. Gorringe. Trans. ASCE 16: 875. Anonymous (1890). Henry H. Gorringe. Proc. ASCE 16: 215-216. Gorringe, H.H. (1885). Egyptian obelisks. Nimmo: London UK. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Honychurch_Gorringe P https://www.pbase.com/jchiarella/gorringe_henry_honychurch&page=all P

GOTAAS 03.09. 1906 Melette SD/USA 24.08. 1977 Evanston IL/USA Harold Benedict Gotaas received his BS degree in civil engineering in 1928 from the University of South Dakota, Vermillion SD, and his MS degree from Iowa State University in 1930. He returned then to his Alma Mater as assistant professor in sanitary engineering, continued from 1936 studies at Harvard Graduate School, receiving his MS title in 1937. He then served as assistant professor of public health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill NC, becoming there full professor in 1941, and receiving the DSc degree from Harvard University in 1942. In 1946 Gotaas joined the University of California, Berkeley CA, as professor of sanitary engineering, becoming in 1949 chairman of the Civil Engineering Division, and head of the Sanitary Research Laboratory. He finally served as Dean of the Northwestern University, Evanston IL. Although continuously busy, Gotaas found time to write a book and papers covering the environment, water, waste treatment and control, engineering education, and economic development problems. Gotaas served on committees, and boards, notably membership of the Great Lakes Commission, Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission, the InterAmerican Association of Sanitary Engineering, and the US Environmental Protection Agency. Awards and decorations came to him in many areas, including: US Legion of Merit; Order of Condor of the Andes, Bolivia; Order of Merit, Chile; Cross of Boyacá, Colombia; Harrison P. Eddy Medal, and Gordon Maskew Fair Medal, both of the Water Pollution Control Federation, and James R. Croes Medal and Rudolph Hering Medal, both of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Anonymous (1957). Gotaas goes to Northwestern as dean. Engineering News-Record 158(Jan.3): 56. P Anonymous (1958). Harold B. Gotaas. Civil Engineering 28(10): 777. P Anonymous (1964). Gotaas, Harold B. Who’s who in engineering 9: 689. Lewis: New York. Anonymous (1977). Dr. Harold B. Gotaas dies. Civil Engineering 47(11): 87. P Gotaas, H.B. (1956). Composting: Sanitary disposal and reclamation of organic wastes. Monograph Series 31: 1-205. World Health Organisation: Geneva, Switzerland. Jennings, B.H., Berry, D.S. (1979). Harold B. Gotaas. Memorial tributes 1: 109-111. National Academy of Engineering: Washington DC. P Wells, E.A., Gotaas, H.B. (1958). Design of Venturi flumes in circular conduits. Trans. ASCE 123: 749-771; 123: 774-775.