John Lyle Harrington (December 7, 1868 – May 20, 1942) was an American civil engineer and a leading expert in the field of moveable bridge design. He was a senior partner in several bridge engineering firms, President of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 1923-24, and Chief of the engineers' board advising the Reconstruction Finance Corporation.

Early life and family

John L. Harrington was born on December 7, 1868, in Lawrence, Kansas to Robert Charles and Angeline Virginia ( née Henry). He attended public schooling in Kansas before graduating from the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. T ...

in 1895 with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

(BS) in

civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewa ...

. In 1899 he married Daisy June Orton of

White Cloud, Kansas White Cloud ( Ioway: ''Chína Maxúthga'' pronounced or ''Chína Maxúhga'' pronounced , meaning "Village Cloud-White") is a city in Doniphan County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 115. It was na ...

before continuing his education at

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous ...

, where he completed a second BS in 1906, and a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast t ...

(MS) degree in 1908. As of 1911, Harrington and his wife resided in Kansas City, Missouri with one child: Thomas Orton Harrington. Eventually, Harrington earned a

Doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

of Engineering from the Case School of Applied Sciences in 1930.

Career and works

Early in his career, Harrington was Chief Engineer of the Locomotive and Machine Company of Montreal. In 1907 he would partner with

John Alexander Low Waddell Dr. John Alexander Low Waddell (January 15, 1854 – March 3, 1938, often shortened to J.A.L. Waddell and sometimes known as John Alexander Waddell) was a Canadian-American civil engineer and prolific bridge designer, with more than a thousa ...

to form the bridge design firm

Waddell & Harrington Waddell & Harrington was an American engineering company that designed bridges from 1907 to 1915. It was formed in 1907 as a partnership of John Alexander Low Waddell (1854–1938) and John Lyle Harrington (1868–1942) and was based in Kansas C ...

. Working together, they would soon obtain several patents improving on Waddell's earlier designs of the state-of-the-art

vertical-lift bridge A vertical-lift bridge or just lift bridge is a type of movable bridge in which a span rises vertically while remaining parallel with the deck. The vertical lift offers several benefits over other movable bridges such as the bascule and sw ...

. As of 2021, one of Harrington's early bridge collaborations with Waddell, the 1910

Hawthorne Bridge The Hawthorne Bridge is a truss bridge with a vertical lift that spans the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, joining Hawthorne Boulevard and Madison Street. It is the oldest vertical-lift bridge in operation in the United States and the o ...

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

, remains the oldest operating vertical-lift bridge in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The partnership came to an end in 1914 when Harrington departed along with draftsman Frank Morgan Cortelyou. They joined a new company called ' Harrington, Howard & Ash', and in 1928 the duo went on to found the long-running firm Harrington & Cortelyou. In 1922 Harrington was elected president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers for the year 1923-24. Under the

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gr ...

presidency (1929–1933), he was a member of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation. By the end of his career, Harrington was credited with having designed over 200 bridges and $100,000,000 worth of infrastructure (as of 1930). Some of Harrington's notable creations include: *

(1910) *

ASB Bridge The Armour-Swift-Burlington (ASB) Bridge, also known as the North Kansas City Bridge and the LRC Bridge, is a rail crossing over the Missouri River in Kansas City, Missouri, that formerly handled automobile traffic. History The piers were built ...

(1911) * Colorado St. (Arroyo Seco) Bridge (1913) *

Murray Morgan Bridge The Murray Morgan Bridge, also known as the 11th Street Bridge or City Waterway Bridge, is a vertical-lift bridge in Tacoma, Washington. It originally opened February 15, 1913, to replace an 1894 swing-span bridge. The bridge connects downtown wi ...

(1913) * Champ Clark Bridge (1928) *

Sarah Mildred Long Bridge The Sarah Mildred Long Bridge is a lift bridge spanning the Piscataqua River between Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and Kittery, Maine, carrying traffic of U.S. Route 1 Bypass. An original bridge by the same name was in operation from 1940 until 2 ...

(1940)

Death

John Harrington died on May 20, 1942, in Kansas City. He is buried at Forest Hill Calvary Cemetery.

Selected publications

* Harrington, John Lyle (ed.).
The principal professional papers of Dr. J.A.L.Waddell, civil engineer
'' 1905. *

& John Lyle Harrington.
Addresses to Engineering Students
'' Waddell & Harrington, 1911.

References

External links

Harrington - Heavy Movable Structures, Inc.

Harrington, John Lyle (1868-1942), Biographical Material
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrington, John L 1868 births 1942 deaths American civil engineers American mechanical engineers University of Kansas alumni McGill University alumni People from Lawrence, Kansas