John William Lieb, the son of John William and Christina (Zens) Lieb, was born on February 12, 1860 in Newark, New Jersey, United States. His father, a native of Württemberg, Germany, had emigrated to the United States in 1846, and was an especially skilled mechanical craftsman and inventor.
At the age of sixteen Lieb attended Newark Academy and Stevens High School, Hoboken. Later he entered Stevens Institute of Technology, from which he graduated with the degree of M. E. in 1880.
For six months after leaving the Institute, Lieb worked as a draftsman for the Brush Electric Company, Cleveland, Ohio; then, in January 1881, he obtained similar employment in the engineering department of the newly organized Edison Electric Light Company in New York. Here he assisted in making plans for the dynamos and other electrical equipment of a proposed central electric lighting plant; but, before the year closed, he was transfered to the Edison Machine Works in New York, where the equipment was being prepared, to assist Thomas A. Edison in the experimental researches involved. No central lighting plants existed at that time, so that the work of Edison and Lieb was of a pioneering character. When the plant, called the Pearl Street Station, was put into regular operation in New York on September 4, 1882, under the auspices of the Edison Electric Illuminating Company, Lieb was made electrician in charge.
Two months later he was selected by Edison to go to Milan, Italy, as his representative in connection with the design, installation, and operation of the Edison underground electrical system for the Italian Edison Company. Lieb remained in Italy for the succeeding twelve years: serving, first, as chief electrician of the Milan Edison Station; then, as chief engineer; and finally, as other electrical stations were erected and the activities of the Italian Edison Company expanded, as manager and technical director, not only of the power plants, but also of the manufacture of incandescent lamps, dynamos, and other electrical equipment. The Milan station began regular service early in 1883, and was, at that time, the largest and most successful electric light and power station in Europe.
Returning to the United States in 1894, he was made assistant to the vice-president of the Edison Electric Illuminating Company. Later he was made vice-president and general manager, serving in this capacity until the company's reorganization as the New York Edison Company in 1901. Subsequently, he became successively associate general manager, vice-president and general manager, and finally, senior vice-president, which position he held at the time of his death. In this last capacity he was in general charge of the installation and operation of the company's power plants and of the transmission systems, and directed all research and development work. He served in a like capacity for all of the affiliated electric companies in the metropolitan area.
From 1900 until his death he was president of the Electrical Testing Laboratories in New York. He was a lecturer on engineering, industrial, and economic subjects in many of the leading universities and technical schools of the United States, and a contributor to the transactions of professional and learned societies.
During the World War he was chairman of the National Committee on Gas and Electric Service; adviser to the Federal, New York State, and New York City Fuel Administrations; and chairman of the Joint Fuel Committee of the National Public Utility Association. As a recreation, he engaged for many years in a critical study of the manuscripts of Leonardo da Vinci, investigating and translating sketches and texts covering his researches and observations, particularly in natural science and engineering. He possessed one of the largest libraries of Vinciana in existence, was a corresponding member of the Raccolta Vinciana of Milan, Italy, and published "Leonardo da Vinci--Natural Philosopher and Engineer".
He died in New York.
Under Lieb's direction at Milan Edison Station, some of the earliest experiments were undertaken, in the parallel operation of large direct-driven alternators, in the operation of large synchronous motors, and in the long-distance transmission of high-tension alternating current by underground cables. He also installed an electric trolley car system in Milan, which was one of the earliest in Italy. Through his influence and direction, Electrical Testing Laboratories made many important contributions in the electrical field. His work was recognized the world over and he was signally honored both at home and abroad, being made a Grand Officer of the Royal Society of the Crown of Italy, an ufficiale of the order of St. Maurizio e Lazzaro, and an officer of the Legion of Honor. The American Institute of Electrical Engineers in 1924 awarded him the Edison Medal for his work in connection with "the development and operation of electric central stations for illumination and power. "
Lieb was a member of many technical and scientific societies both in the United States and Europe.
On July 29, 1886, Lieb married Minnie F. Engler of New York City. He had two daughters and a son.
