Henry Gordon Stott

Background

Henry was born in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom, May 13, 1866. He was the son of the Rev. David Stott and Elizabeth Jane Dibblee.

Education

Prepared in part by his father, he attended Watson Collegiate School, Edinburgh, proceeding thence to the College of Arts and Sciences at Glasgow, where he completed the course in mechanical engineering and electricity in 1885.

Career

Stott had been employed by the Electric Illuminating Company of Glasgow, and upon graduation he became assistant electrician on board the steamship Minia of the Anglo-American Telegraph Company, principally engaged in repairs to cable lines. During his four and a half years with this organization he conducted experiments resulting in improved methods of cable repair and "was identified with the 'duplexing' of the United States Cable Company's main cable (2, 750 knots), the longest duplex cable in the world".

After about a year as assistant engineer of the Brush Electric Engineering Company, Bournemouth, England, and another in a similar capacity with Hammond & Company, engaged in the construction of a power plant and an underground cable line at Madrid, Spain, he came to the United States in 1891 to construct the underground cable and conduit system for the Buffalo Light & Power Company.

His performance of this task led to his appointment as engineer of the company, in which connection, during the ensuing decade, he had an active part in the industrial development of Buffalo.

In 1901 he removed to New York City to become superintendent of motive power for the Manhattan Railway Company, assuming charge of the organization of the operating force, the construction of the power plant in Seventy-fourth Street, substations, and transmission lines.

Retained in the same position after the amalgamation of the Manhattan system with the Interboro Rapid Transit Company, he supervised the construction of the Fifty-ninth Street power plant and the design, construction, and operation of the power-generating stations of the distributing system of the gigantic Interboro company, which controlled subway, elevated, and surface lines of New York City.

To the Transactions of a number of these bodies he contributed papers revealing an unusual capacity for minute analysis of engineering problems. Among them were "Locating Faults in Underground Distribution Systems" and "The Distribution and Conversion of Received Currents"; "Power Plant Economics"; "Notes on the Cost of Power"; "Test of a 15, 000 Kilowatt Steam-Engine Turbine Unit, " with R. J. S. Pigott. In 1891 he came to the United States to install an underground cable and conduit system at Buffalo, New York, for what was then the Buffalo Light and Power Company, becoming engineer of the company shortly thereafter. From that time until 1901 he was one of the most active figures in the industrial progress of Buffalo.

In 1901 he was appointed superintendent of motive power for the company which later became the Interborough Rapid Transit Company, of New York City. Before starting actual work, it was necessary for him to organize an operating force.

In 1904 he undertook the construction of a power plant for the Interborough Rapid Transit Company, and from that time until his death on January 15, 1917, he was in charge of the design, construction, and operation of the power generating stations and the distributing system of the Interborough.

Mr. Stott served the Institute as a member of the board of directors for 3 years preceding his presidency, and was a member of a number of the Institute's committees. He was known for his minute analysis of engineering problems, and he had passed his information on to others through the presenting of a number of papers before the Institute and other societies.

He died in 1917.

Achievements

• Henry Gordon Stott was a remarkable figure in the engineering world because he was in the front rank of both electrical and mechanical engineers, because in both branches of the art, he was a master of theory and practice, and because with these technical qualifications he combined a rare executive ability, a power of inspiring the confidence of his employees and of bringing out the best that was in the men who worked for him. He was responsible for such notable project as the Wilkerson Street power plant He also served as a vice-president of The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 1912-14, director of the American Society of Civil Engineers, 1911, and was vice-president and trustee of United Engineering Society at the time of his death.

Religion

He was an active member of the Protestant Episcopal Church of New Rochelle.

Views

He was a firm believer in cooperation among engineers, through the agency of engineering societies, and devoted much of his time and ability to the welfare and development of these professional organizations.

Membership

He was a member of The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 1912-14, of the American Society of Civil Engineers, 1911, and of the United Engineering Society.

Connections

On July 22, 1894, he married Anna Mitchell, who with a son and a daughter survived him.

Father:

David Stott

Mother:

Elizabeth Jane Dibblee

Wife:

Anna Mitchell