BENNETT

BENNETT 30.01. 1892 Cincinnati OH/USA 10.03. 1951 Dayton OH/USA Charles Stuart Bennett obtained the BS degree in civil engineering from Purdue University, Lafayette IN, in 1914. He was then research engineer of the Kentucky Department of Public Roads until 1917, taking over as field engineer until 1922 within the Miami Conservancy District, Dayton OH, on surveys for flood control projects. Until his retirement, he then was in charge of the Office Administration, the Miami Conservancy District, on this large flood control project. He was in 1947 appointed assistant to the chief engineer on the maintenance of this project, and was further in charge of hydraulic data and studies. Bennett was member of the American Society of Civil Engineers ASCE, and of the Dayton Engineering Club. Bennett had been for 33 years with the Miami Conservancy Project, namely from its initiation in the 1910s to the well-developed status of this notable flood control scheme. He had been responsible for the collection of hydrological and hydraulic data, and the supervision of the flood warning and river stage predictions. The 1938 paper gives an overview on actions completed and planned relating to the Miami Valley. The 1929 paper deals with the 1929 storm, which produced an excessive runoff, attaining more than the rainfall discharge. It was noted that the scheme set up withstood this massive attack, producing only minor damages. Bennett collaborated in this period with Arthur E. Morgan (1878-1975), and Ivan E. Houk (1888-1972). Anonymous (1948). Bennett, Charles S. Who’s who in engineering 6: 144. Lewis: New York. Anonymous (1951). Charles S. Bennett. Engineering News-Record 146(Apr.5): 55. Bennett, C.S. (1929). Miami flood protection works tested by high flood. Engineering News-Record 102: 599-601. Bennett, C.S. (1934). Hydrological data from the Miami Conservancy District. Engineering News-Record 113(Nov.1): 556-558. Bennett, C.S. (1935). Discussion of Determinate stream flow. Trans. ASCE 100: 371-373. Bennett, C.S. (1935). Discussion of The reservoir as a flood control structure. Trans. ASCE 100: 918-919. Bennett, C.S. (1935). Discussion of Practical river laboratory hydraulics. Trans. ASCE 100: 168-170. Eiffert, C.H., Bennett, C.S. (1938). Sixteen years of flood control in the Miami Valley. Civil Engineering 8(5): 343-345. (P)

BENSEL 16.08. 1863 New York NY/USA 19.06. 1922 Bernardsville NJ/USA John Anderson Bensel graduated from Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken NJ, in 1884 as mechanical engineer, and was the recipient of the Hon. D. Engr. degree in 1921. He was from 1884 a rodman in the Department of Public Works for the New York Aqueduct and the New Croton Dam. He then joined various railways companies as assistant engineer in Pennsylvania; he was from 1889 to 1896 assistant engineer within the Department of Docks NY, in charge of the construction of work on bulkheads and sea-wall docks. From 1896 he took up a private practice for the river wall along a mile of water-front on Delaware River. In parallel he was associated with the Department of Docks and Ferries of New York City, finally as chief engineer until 1906, and in 1907 as commander. From 1908 to 1914 Bensel was president of the Board of Water Supply of NYC, and then continued as New York State Engineer conducting works of public improvement including the Barge Canal. During World War I Benson commanded an engineering batallion as major general of the US Army Corps of Engineers. After return to his country in 1919, he was again consulting engineer for the New York and New Jersey Bridge and Terminal Commission. He was associated closely all through his engineering career with the American Society of Civil Engineers ASCE, acting as director from 1899 to 1901, as vice-president from 1907 to 1910, taking then over as president. He further was member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers ASME. He has written papers on his works on the docks, the civil engineering profession, and on floods and their mitigation. Bensel’s New Jersey mansion built in 1905 was named Queen Anne Farm. It is currently part of the Morristown National Historic Place. The surrounding grounds contain a five-story stone water tower and a large silver maple tree planted by Bensel in 1906. Anonymous (1923). John Anderson Bensel. Trans. ASCE 86: 1612-1617. Bensel, J.A. (1905). Wharves and piers: Observations on dock work in New York Harbor. Trans. ASCE 54: 1-17. FitzSimons, N. (1991). Bensel, John A. A biographical dictionary of American civil engineers 2: 10-11. ASCE: New York. P Townsend, C.M., Bensel, J.A., Dabney, T.G., Mead, D.W. (1917). Final report of the Special Committee on Floods and Flood Prevention. Trans. ASCE 81: 1218-1229; 81: 1303-1310. h https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_A._Bensel P