Major Lenox Riley Lohr (1891-1968) was a contributor to the development of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

's lake front; organizer of exhibitions including the Century of Progress and Chicago Railroad Fairs; longtime president of Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry and promoter of civic and charitable causes.

Early years

Lenox Riley Lohr was born in Washington, D.C. in 1891, a cousin of

John Philip Sousa John Philip Sousa ( ; November 6, 1854 – March 6, 1932) was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era known primarily for American military marches. He is known as "The March King" or the "American March King", to dis ...

. He earned a degree in mechanical engineering from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

in 1916 and took a commission as a second lieutenant in the same year in the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

World War I

Lohr served with the

American Expeditionary Forces The American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.) was a formation of the United States Army on the Western Front of World War I. The A. E. F. was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of General John J. Pershing. It fought along ...

(AEF) in France where he advanced to the rank of major. He was awarded a Silver Star for gallantry in the

Meuse–Argonne offensive The Meuse–Argonne offensive (also known as the Meuse River–Argonne Forest offensive, the Battles of the Meuse–Argonne, and the Meuse–Argonne campaign) was a major part of the final Allied offensive of World War I that stretched along t ...

. While taking a course in cryptography under

William F. Friedman William Frederick Friedman (September 24, 1891 – November 12, 1969) was a US Army cryptographer who ran the research division of the Army's Signal Intelligence Service (SIS) in the 1930s, and parts of its follow-on services into the 1950s. ...

at the Riverbank Laboratory, he developed a method for the solution of certain transposition ciphers.

The 1920s

From 1922 to 1929 Major Lohr worked in various capacities for the Army from 1922 to 1929 including executive secretary of the Society of American Engineers and was the editor of its journal ''The Military Engineer''. In 1929 he resigned from the Army and was hired by

Rufus C. Dawes Rufus Cutler Dawes (July 30, 1867 – January 8, 1940) was an American businessman in oil and banking from a prominent Ohio family. He and his three brothers all became nationally known. In the 1920s he served as an expert on the commissions ...

, brother of former vice-president, Charles Dawes, as general manager of Chicago's

Century of Progress A Century of Progress International Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States, from 1933 to 1934. The fair, registered under the Bureau International des Expositi ...

world's fair. In his role he was primarily responsible for the coordination of construction, promotion and financial organization. The Century of Progress exhibition was a rare example of a world's fair that not only repaid all its investors in full, but closed with a surplus.

The 1930s

After the close of the Century of Progress Major Lohr was hired as President of NBC Radio where he supervised NBC's earliest experiment with television. He also was involved in the negotiations and litigation which forced NBC to divest itself of its Blue Network.

Museum of Science and Industry

In 1940 Major Lohr was named to succeed

Rufus Dawes Rufus R. Dawes (July 4, 1838August 1, 1899) was a military officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He used the middle initial "R" but had no middle name. He was noted for his service in the famed Iron Brigade, particularly duri ...

as president of Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry. At the time the museum was struggling to survive and find a place among other museums. Major Lohr changed the focus of the museum away from history and developed the concept of inviting business firms to establish state-of-the art exhibits with a commercial connection included. Under his 28-year tenure the museum became one of Chicago's most popular destinations. Under his management several iconic exhibits were established including Christmas Around the World (1942), Santa Fe model railroad (1943), Colleen Moore's Fairy Castle (1949), walk-through human heart (1952) and U-505 WWII German submarine (1954).

Chicago Railroad Fair

In 1948 Major Lohr was appointed to organize the

Chicago Railroad Fair The Chicago Railroad Fair was an event organized to celebrate and commemorate 100 years of railroad history west of Chicago, Illinois. It was held in Chicago in 1948 and 1949 along the shore of Lake Michigan and is often referred to as "the last ...

. In only five months he brought together 39 American railroads, supervised the building of five miles of both standard and narrow gauge track on nearly the same grounds as the Century of Progress 25 years earlier. He coordinated the display and operation of a collection of modern and historic railroad and other transportation equipment including a pageant named "Wheels A Rolling" with several hundred participants. The fair's one-year run was extended in 1949.

Other accomplishments

Lohr organized the "Centennial of Engineering" in 1952 in Chicago. and the Military and Industrial Conferences from 1955 to 1957. He was a member of the Chicago Park and Fair Corporation and its successor, the Metropolitan Fair and Exhibition Authority (1950–59). He served as chairman of the Illinois Higher Education Commission (1954–59) during which time the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univer ...

Chicago campus was established. He organized and served as chairman of the Illinois Civil Defense Agency (1950–53)Public Aid in Illinois, Volume 18, Illinois Public Aid Commission, 1951, p. 14 and was a charter member of University of Illinois Citizens Committee. Directed the efforts to fund the restoration of the Jane Addam's Hull House. Awarded Distinguished Service Awards from both the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy, Lohr held the rank of Lt. Commander in the Naval Reserve. He received the Rosenberger Medal from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

in 1963.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lohr, Lenox R. Businesspeople from Chicago American cryptographers 1891 births 1968 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army officers United States Army Corps of Engineers personnel Recipients of the Silver Star Military personnel from Washington, D.C. United States Navy officers Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal