J. Elfreth Watkins Sr.

John Elfreth Watkins Sr. (1852–1903) was Curator of Mechanical Technology at the

United States National Museum The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

(Smithsonian Institution). He received his education at Lafayette College, graduating in 1871, and worked first for the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, as a

mining engineer Mining in the engineering discipline is the extraction of minerals from underneath, open pit, above or on the ground. Mining engineering is associated with many other disciplines, such as mineral processing, exploration, excavation, geology, and ...

, for a year, and then for the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

as assistant engineer of construction. Disabled in 1873 by an accident that resulted in the loss of his right leg, he was reassigned to the Amboy division of the railroad. In 1883 he became chief clerk of the

Camden and Atlantic Railroad The West Jersey and Seashore Railroad (WJ&S) was a Pennsylvania Railroad subsidiary in the U.S. state of New Jersey with a connection to Philadelphia. It was formed through the merger of several smaller roads in May 1896. At the end of 1925 it ...

and in 1884 chief clerk of the Amboy division of the Pennsylvania Railroad. In that same year, he became Honorary Curator of Transportation at the National Museum, taking the job full-time after two years. He left to organize the Pennsylvania Railroad's exhibits at the

1893 World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The centerpiece of the Fair, hel ...

; stayed in Chicago for a year organizing the Department of Industrial Arts at the

Field Columbian Museum The Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH), also known as The Field Museum, is a natural history museum in Chicago, Illinois, and is one of the largest such museums in the world. The museum is popular for the size and quality of its educational ...

; and then returned to the Smithsonian, where he was curator of Mechanical Technology until his death in 1903. He played a key role in the preservation of the '' John Bull''

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

and its subsequent public displays by the Smithsonian Institution.

J. Elfreth Watkins Jr.

John Elfreth Watkins Ladies Home Journal Predictions 1900

In 1900, his son John Elfreth Watkins Jr. (1875–?) contributed''Futuring: The Exploration of the Future''
by Edward Cornish (2004) an article to the ''

Ladies' Home Journal ''Ladies' Home Journal'' was an American magazine last published by the Meredith Corporation. It was first published on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th century in the United States. In 18 ...

'', entitled ''What May Happen in the Next Hundred Years''. Tom Geoghegan, BBC News: ''Ten 100-year predictions that came true'', 11 January 2012
/ref> Watkins Jr.'s predictions were remarkably accurate for 1900.

References

* Massa, William R., Jr., Smithsonian Institution (2004

Retrieved March 3, 2008. * ttp://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=n4554rbw&id=I63265 Genealogy information*Marcus Benjamin, "John Elfreth Watkins," ''Science'' September 4, 1903, NS VOL XVIII Number 453, p. 30

1852 births 1903 deaths American people in rail transportation Smithsonian Institution people American civil engineers {{US-rail-bio-stub