Background
John Bogart was born on February 8, 1836, in Albany, New York, United States, the son of John Henry and Eliza (Hermans) Bogart. He was descended from Dutch ancestors who settled in 1641 at Albany, New York.
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John Bogart
Edit ProfileEducation
John's formal education was received at the Albany Academy and at Rutgers College, from which he was graduated in 1853 with the degree of A. B. He commenced the study of law but, due to ill health, forsook it for the active exercise of engineering.
Career
Bogart’s first position was a temporary one with the New York Central Railroad. He served as an engineer during the Civil War. His engineering life was remarkable for the diversity of its accomplishments. As consulting engineer for the Cataract Construction Company (later the Niagara Falls Power Company) he traveled all over Europe, studying existing methods of power generation and transmission, and at Doamne, opposite the Grand Chartreuse in the Dauphin Alps, where the power for a papermill was drawn from a glacial stream in the mountains four miles away, he found the precedent which had great influence in the final decision as to the system to be adopted at Niagara.
As advisory engineer for the original Rapid Transit Commission of New York, Bogart prepared plans and contracts for the first subway system. He prepared plans for tunnels under the Hudson to Jersey City and Hoboken, and for the subway now operating between New York and Queens. He was delegated by the president to represent the United States at the international Navigation Congresses held in Doesseldorf, Germany, in 1902; in Milan, Italy, in 1905; and at St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1908. His technical work covered the field of engineering from railroads, canals, waterworks, tunnels, parks, and bridges to hydro-electric development, dams, inland-waterway and irrigation projects. He earnestly believed that the great engineer was the man who, rather than specializing too deeply on anyone phase of engineering, is capable of combining all essentials into a harmonious whole, and his varied work throughout a life of eighty-four years was a successful effort to realize this conviction.
Achievements
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John Bogart was best known for his work in connection with public park planning and improvement in New York City and many other American cities, and for his contribution to hydro-electric development in the United States and Canada. Especially important was his position as chief engineer of the Chattanooga and Tennessee River Power Company on a 60, 000 horsepower plant in the Tennessee River near Chattanooga. It was the first instance where pneumatic caissons had been used for excavation and afterwards were incorporate as part of the dam.
Membership
Bogart was a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Institution of Civil Engineers of Great Britain.
Connections
In 1870 Bogart was married to Emma Cherrington Jefferis of West Chester, Pennsylvania.
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Born
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Died
April 25, 1920 (aged 84) -
Resting place
Albany Rural Cemetery, Menands, New York, United States -
Nationality
American