BLANCHARD

BLANCHARD 25.07. 1874 Peru IL/USA 03.10. 1961 Rocky River OH/USA Murray Blanchard received his BS degree from the University of Michigan in 1898, and there his civil engineering degree in 1903. He was from 1898 in parallel a recorder of the US Deep Water Survey, then a junior engineer from 1899 to 1905 with the US Lake Survey, until 1910 then engineer for the hydraulic investigations at J.G. White CO, followed by a position until 1914 with Water Power Ga. Ry. & Pr. CO. He then was with the Sanitary District of Chicago until 1917. After war service, Blanchard was a hydraulic engineer with the State of Illinois until 1930, and finally was both a consultant and with the US Public Works Administration until retirement in 1956. He was a president of the ASCE Illinois Section and published works in ASCE journals. In his 1902 Report, Blanchard describes discharge measurement of Detroit River at Fort Wayne. Eleven current meters of Haskell type as described by Eugene Edwin Haskell (1855-1933) were used from a catamaran. Single observations lasted for three minutes resulting in vertical velocity plots. Almost two hours were necessary to take eleven profiles with one meter. The numerical data were presented in Tables including average velocity ratios at each 10% flow depth. This work was important in the USA in terms of accurate discharge measurement of large rivers, such that Stepanos Kolupaila (18921964) included Blanchard in a list of notable persons in hydrometry with significant observations during the 19th century. The 1920 paper compares records with Haskell and Price meters under various field conditions, stating that the first is more reliable. The 1921 paper proposes the Manning formula for uniform flow predictions. The 1932 paper relates to a set of discharge curves for various falls between two gaging stations. Anonymous (1925). Murray Blanchard. Illinois Catholic Historical Review 7(3): 224. P Anonymous (1959). Blanchard, Murray. Who’s who in engineering 8: 219-220. Lewis: New York. Blanchard, M. (1920). Hydraulics of the Chicago Sanitary’s District main channel. Journal of the Western Society of Engineers 25(13): 471-524; 26(8): 300-303. Blanchard, M. (1921). Manning’s formula better than Kutter’s. Engineering News-Record 87(3): 96. Blanchard, M. (1932). A discharge diagram for uniform flow in open channels. Trans. ASCE 97: 865-886. Kolupaila, S. (1960). Murray Blanchard: Early history of hydrometry in the United States. Journal of the Hydraulics Division ASCE 86(HY1): 32; 86(HY6): 117-119; 86(7): 33. P

BLANEY 19.07. 1892 Los Angeles CA/USA 18.10. 1976 Los Angeles CA/USA Harry French Blaney, distinguished engineer in water conservation, made key contributions to irrigation research not only in California, but throughout the world. He received in 1915 the BS degree in civil engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles CA, working then for Southern California Gas Company. He began with the US Department of Agriculture in 1917, a career that continued until his retirement in 1962. Until 1973 he was then a research associate at his Alma Mater. Blaney was awarded the 1966 John Deere Medal, the American Society of Agricultural Engineers, the 1966 Royce Tipton Award, the American Society of Civil Engineers ASCE, and he was a Honorary Member of the International Commission of Irrigation and Drainage ICID. Blaney’s career was with the US Department of Agriculture including the following stations: From 1917 to 1918 he was engaged with irrigation and silt studies of Colorado River and at Imperial Valley, from when he was in charge of the Denver Irrigation Field Laboratory, conducting there evaporation and evapotranspiration studies. From 1919 to 1927 he conducted studies on the cost of irrigation water, from when he continued with work on the consumptive use of water by irrigated crops and native vegetation and rainfall disposal until 1934. Until 1941 he then was a water conservation engineer in New Mexico, California and Texas and was in charge of a technical mission to Cuba to investigate the rehabilitation of agriculture, various dam sites, and water supply for rice irrigation. From 1943 to 1951 he was project supervisor in charge of consumptive irrigation studies with the State Engineer of California and the US Soil Conservation Service SCS. Finally from 1954 to 1962, Blaney acted as principal irrigation engineer of the US Agricultural Research Service ARS in Pacific Southwest. Blaney, H.F., Huberty, M.R. (1930). Cost of irrigation water in California. Department of Water Resources: California State Printing Office: Sacramento CA. Blaney, H.F. (1939). Discussion of A theory of silt transportation. Trans. ASCE 104: 1754. Blaney, H.F. (1951). Consumptive use of water. Proc. ASCE 77(Oct., Separate 91): 1-19. Blaney, H.F. (1958). Evaporation from free water surfaces at high altitudes. Trans. ASCE 123: 385-395; 123: 402-404. Cullen, R.J., Willard, B.R. (1978). Writings of Harry F. Blaney, distinguished water conservation engineer. California Water Resources Center, Archives Report No. 24. University of California: Davis CA. P