THAYER D.P.

THAYER D.P. 13.12. 1902 Portland OR/USA 06.06. 1969 Sacramento CA/USA Donald Packard Thayer studied from 1922 to 1925 at the Oregon State College, Corvallis OR, and then held various positions in the Pacific Northwest until 1930. He was from 1931 to 1933 engaged as assistant engineer on engineering work in Oregon, becoming from 1934 to 1936 assistant engineer on structural designs of Bonneville Dam, a major dam erected by the US Corps of Engineers, Portland OR. From 1939 to 1946 Thayer was in charge of the design of four major dams, miscellaneous hydraulic structures of the Corps program at Portland OR. Until 1949 he was then chief of the Design Branch, supervising military constructions in Hawaii, Guam, the Philippines for the Corps, and stationed at Sausalito CA. Until 1952 he then was assistant to the chief of the Military Branch, in planning and executing the military construction program in New England, at Boston MA. Until 1956 he was senior engineer of the Corps’ Dam Design Branch, occupied with preliminary investigations and the design of the Feather River Project in California, including additional units of the California Water Plan, at Sacramento CA. From 1957 he was in charge of the design of all phases of water development projects as assistant Division engineer, including dams, power generation, aqueducts, and pumping plants of the Department of Water Resources, Sacramento CA. At the time of his death he was deputy division engineer of the California Dept. of Water Resources. Thayer was credited as the one man with prime engineering responsibility for the design of Oroville Dam, thereby solving problems for an earth-fill dam far larger than built previously anywhere in the world. He received in 1962 the Governor’s Award for superior accomplishment and a year later was given a special State citation for excellence as chief of the dams and plan design branch. He was member of the US Committee on Large Dams, and known for his work in hydraulics, geological exploration, and contract negotiation. He also had served as part-time instructor in engineering courses for the US Department of Education and the Oregon System of Higher Education from 1943 to 1946. Thayer was member of the American Society of Civil Engineers ASCE. Anonymous (1959). Thayer, Donald P. Who’s who in engineering 8: 2440. Lewis: New York. Shultz, W.G., Thayer, D.P., Doody, J.J. (1961). Oroville Dam and appurtenant features. Journal of the Power Division ASCE 87(PO2): 29-40. Thayer, D.P., Stroppini, E.W. (1965). Hydraulic design for Oroville Dam spillway. ASCE: NY. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:OrovilleDam.jpg (P)

THAYER S. 09.06. 1785 Braintree MA/USA 07.09. 1872 South Braintree MA/USA Sylvanus Thayer graduated in 1807 from Dartmouth College, Hanover NH. He graduated only one year later from the Military Academy, West Point NY. During the 1812 War he directed the fortifications and the defence of Norfolk VA, and was promoted to major. In 1815, he travelled to Europe studying at Ecole Polytechnique, Paris, for two years mainly mathematics. Upon return to the USA he became superintendent of the Military Academy, becoming successively America’s first college of engineering. He ended this appointment in 1833 and was elected associate Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1834. He returned to duty with the Army Corps of Engineers, spending the next 33 years as chief engineer for the Boston area. He oversaw the construction of both Fort Warren and Fort Independence to defend Boston Harbour. He retired from the Army in 1863 with the rank of colonel in the US Corps of Engineers, but in 1864 was awarded the rank of honorary brevet brigadier general. In 1867 Thayer donated 30,000 US$ to the trustees of Dartmouth College to create the Thayer School of Engineering. To honour his achievements, the Sylvanus Thayer Award was created in 1958 by the US Military Academy. The Military Academy was founded in 1802 mainly under the strong sponsorship of President Jefferson. For the preparation of military engineers, the Academy eventually came to train as many man for civilian life as for the army. Thayer was sent to Europe by President Madison to study the theory and practice of fortification design. Thayer had in Paris the opportunity of observing instruction, where the mathematical training was and still is paramount, and his observations there were to play a considerable role in his development of West Point NY. During his stay as superintendent, both science and engineering were there greatly strengthened. Much of the instruction was patterned after the French system, in particular the strong emphasis on mathematics. Though there was periodic criticism of teaching civil as much as military engineering, and producing more engineers than the Army could absorb, it was decided that this policy was salutary rather than misguided. Adams, C., ed. (1965). The West Point Thayer papers 1808-1872. West Point NY. Kershner, J.W. (1982). Sylvanus Thayer: A biography. Arno Press: New York. P Rouse, H. (1976). Thayer. Hydraulics in the United States 1776-1976: 23. IIHR: Iowa City IA. P https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvanus_Thayer P