John Edward Otterson (March 29, 1881 – August 10, 1964)"John E. Otterson, Shipbuilder, Dies." ''The New York Times.'' August 11, 1964, p. 33. was an American

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

and

business executive A business executive is a person responsible for running an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. Executives run companies or government agencies. They create plans to help their organizations ...

Winchester Repeating Arms Company The Winchester Repeating Arms Company was a prominent American manufacturer of repeating firearms and ammunition. The firm was established in 1866 by Oliver Winchester and was located in New Haven, Connecticut. The firm went into receivership ...

in the 1920s,

Western Electric Company The Western Electric Company was an American electrical engineering and manufacturing company officially founded in 1869. A wholly owned subsidiary of American Telephone & Telegraph for most of its lifespan, it served as the primary equipment m ...

in the 1920-30s, and at Paramount Productions, Inc. in 1935-36. He is also known as 3rd president of the

Taylor Society The Taylor Society was an American society for the discussion and promotion of scientific management, named after Frederick Winslow Taylor. Originally named The Society to Promote The Science of Management, the Taylor Society was initiated in 191 ...

in the year 1918-19. John Cunningham Wood, Michael C. Wood. ''F. W. Taylor: Critical Evaluations in Business and Management.'' 2002. p. 89

Biography

Youth, education and early career

Otterson was born in 1881 in

Allegheny, Pennsylvania Allegheny City was a municipality that existed in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania from 1788 until it was annexed by Pittsburgh in 1907. It was located north across the Allegheny River from downtown Pittsburgh, with its southwest border formed by ...

, son of John Price Otterson and Louise (LeGrand) Otterson. After high school, in 1900, he joined the U.S. Navy. In serves he graduated from the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

in 1904 and obtained his MSc from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

in 1909. He resigned from the U.S. Navy in 1915 as naval constructor, with the rank of lieutenant.Eileen S. Quigley. ''International Motion Picture Almanac,'' 1938. p. 581. In 1915 Otterson joined the

, where he worked his way up from general manufacturing superintendent to vice-president, president and director in 1922. In

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he also served at the United States Council of National Defense as a member of the Munitions Standards Board. From 1922 to 1924 He was also president and director of the

Simmons Hardware Company The Simmons Hardware Company was a hardware manufacturer based in St. Louis with locations in six states. Staff The founder of the company was Edward C. Simmons, who started the company in 1874 and retired in 1898. The founder's son, George W ...

, and he established a merger between the two companies. In 1918-19 Otterson also served as president of the

as successor of Harlow S. Person, and was succeeded by Henry S. Dennison. Moustafa H. Abdelsamad (ed.) "SAM Diamond anniversary," in: ''SAM Advanced Management Journal,'' Vol 53. Nr. 2 Spring 1988. p. 41

Further career

In 1924 Otterson moved from firearms into telecommunications, and started as assistant general superintendent of International Western Electric Company, the overseas operations of Western Electric Co Inc. Next, he moved up at

from general commercial engineer to general commercial manager in 1926. In 1927 he became general manager, vice-president and director of Electrical Research Products, Inc., where he was president from 1928 until June 1935. In these period he directed the international activities of Western Electric Company in Middle and South America, and parts of Europe and the Middle East. In June 1935 Otterson became president and director of Paramount Productions, Inc.Robert S. Birchard.
Cecil B. DeMille's Hollywood
'' 2009, p. 158. and Paramount Pictures Dist. Co., Inc., where he resigned one year later, June, 1936. The ''New York Times'' (1964) summarized, that Otterson "replaced Adolph Zukor, who became chairman of the board. In 1936, Mr. Otterson was forced out of the Paramount company under a stipulation that he was to get $200,000 for his Paramount contract." From the motion picture industry Otterson moved into the shipbuilding enterprise. He first joined the American Arbitration Association in New York, New haven. In July 1941 he was appointed director of the U.S. Office of Ship Repair, coordinating ship repair and conversion for the Navy and the United States Maritime Commission. From middle 1942 to early 1943 he was president of the New Jersey Shipbuilding Corporation, built landing craft and tankers, and chaired of the American Maritime Council. After World War II he served as president of the East Coast Shipyards, Inc., and was on the board of the Anigraphic Process, Inc., and the Naumo Corporation.

Family life

Otterson married Roxanna Johnson in 1904, and they had one son John E. Otterson Jr., in 1964 a resident of Chicago. Otterson had survived his wife by 11 years, and had lived in

Ridgefield, Connecticut Ridgefield is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. Situated in the foothills of the Berkshire Mountains, the 300-year-old community had a population of 25,033 at the 2020 census. The town center, which was formerly a borough ...

. He died in 1964 at the

Norwalk Hospital Norwalk Hospital is a not-for-profit, acute care community teaching hospital in the Hospital Hill section of Norwalk, Connecticut. The hospital serves a population of 250,000 in lower Fairfield County, Connecticut. The 366-bed hospital has more ...

in Norwalk, Connecticut at the age of 83.

References

External links

MPPDA Digital Archive - John Edward Otterson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Otterson, John Edward 1881 births 1964 deaths Engineers from Pennsylvania American business executives United States Naval Academy alumni Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni People from Pittsburgh