ABSTRACT
NORTH 16.07. 1835 Hartford CT/USA 20.07. 1911 New York NY/USA Edward Payson North entered in 1854 the Union College but did not make a degree there. He joined in 1856 Ellis S. Chesbrough (1813-1886) as assistant engineer for Chicago’s sewerage system. In 1864, after problems with his eyesight had been restored, he was appointed assistant engineer on a railways project. From 1873 to 1875 he served as principal assistant the US Corps of Engineers on improvement works of the Upper Mississippi between the Falls of St. Anthony and St. Cloud MN. His 1877 paper dates from these days. After works for New York City, he prepared from 1878 the contribution of the American Society of Civil Engineers ASCE to the Exposition Universelle in Paris. This exhibit consisted mainly of designs and photographs of the main American engineering works, notably dams, locks, bridges, hydraulic machinery, river and harbour improvements, and railroads; it was awarded at North’s visit to Paris, during which he also studied the European techniques of road preparation. A paper published in 1878 on this topic was given the 1879 ASCE Norman Medal. He in addition wrote with Clemens Herschel (1842-1930) a notable book on the Science of road making. North attended the 1892 Intl. Congress on Inland Navigation, held at Paris, presenting a work ‘On the relations between railroads and waterways in the United States’. He also studied the canal systems in Holland, river control schemes in France, and railroads in Italy. From 1897 he was consulting engineer of the Department of Public Works, New York City. He also was consultant to the canal enlargement of New York State. He has written during these years papers ‘characterized by earnestness, thorough study, and sincerity’. His technical education and the broad field of practical experiences led to outstanding papers in the then leading engineering journals, namely these of ASCE, but also in Engineering News, and in the Engineering Record. He contributed discussions to topics as varied as to the Inter-oceanic canal projects, Temperature of water at various depths in lakes and oceans, or Economic depth of canals. It was stated in his obituary ‘That gentleness, which, when it mates with manhood, makes a man’. Anonymous (1911). Edward P. North. Engineering News 66(4): 127. P Anonymous (1912). North, E.P. Trans. ASCE 75: 1167-1176. P Herschel, C., North, E.P. (1890). The science of road making. Engineering News Publ.: NY. North, E.P. (1877). Wing dams in the Mississippi above the Falls of St. Anthony. Trans. ASCE 6: 268-276. North, E.P. (1900). Canals from the Lakes to New York. Proc. ASCE 26: 1203-1223.
