Lew Russell Palmer (February 11, 1875 – March 24, 1945) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

player and expert on industrial safety and accident prevention. He played for the

Princeton Tigers football The Princeton Tigers football program represents Princeton University and competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I Football Championship, Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level as a member ...

team and was selected as the consensus first-team end on the

1898 College Football All-America Team The 1898 College Football All-America team is composed of American football players who were selected as the best players at their positions by various organizations that chose College Football All-America Teams that season. The organizations that ...

. Palmer was born in

Adrian, Michigan Adrian is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Lenawee County. The population was 20,645 at the 2020 census. Adrian lies in Michigan's 7th congressional district. History Adrian was founded on June 18, 1826 by Addison Co ...

, in 1875. He attended Grinnell College in Iowa. While at Grinnell, he set a western intercollegiate record in the half-mile run and was selected as an All-American in cross country. He subsequently enrolled at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

. He graduated from Princeton in 1898 and remained for an additional three years to study electrical engineering. While at Princeton, he played for the

team. He was a consensus first-team honoree on the

, and he was selected as a second-team All-American by ''

Outing Outing is the act of disclosing an LGBT person's sexual orientation or gender identity without that person's consent. It is often done for political reasons, either to instrumentalize homophobia in order to discredit political opponents or to com ...

'' magazine in 1899. After completing his studies at Princeton, Palmer went to work for

Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company The Westinghouse Electric Corporation was an American manufacturing company founded in 1886 by George Westinghouse. It was originally named "Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company" and was renamed "Westinghouse Electric Corporation" in ...

East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania East Pittsburgh is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, about southeast of the confluence of the Monongahela and the Allegheny rivers at Pittsburgh. The population in 1900 stood at 2,883, and in 1910, at 5,615. As of the 2020 census, t ...

. He was one of the founders of the Association of Iron and Steel Electrical Engineers in 1907 and also served as that organization's president. He also served as president of the

National Safety Council The National Safety Council (NSC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, public service organization promoting health and safety in the United States. Headquartered in Itasca, Illinois, NSC is a member organization, founded in 1913 and granted a congressi ...

and held positions with the Lackawanna Steel Company in Buffalo, New Jersey Zinc Co., and the Jones and Laughlin Steel Company in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

. In 1913, Palmer became the chief inspector of the

Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry is a cabinet-level agency in the Government of Pennsylvania. The agency is charged with the task of overseeing the health and safety of workers, enforcement of the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction ...

. In November 1917, he became the acting commissioner of the same department. He was also the chairman of the National Committee on Industrial Safety. In November 1918, Palmer became the director of safety and personnel for the Equitable Life Assurance Society. He remained with Equitable through at least 1940. In 1920, he was living in

Yonkers, New York Yonkers () is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. Developed along the Hudson River, it is the third most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City and Buffalo. The population of Yonkers was 211,569 as enu ...

, with his wife, Vesta, and their daughter Christine. In 1930 and 1940, he remained living with his wife, Vesta (and in 1920 his daughter) in Yonkers and was employed as a "conservation engineer" by Equitable Life. Palmer died in 1945. He was buried at Perry Township Cemetery in

Stark County, Ohio Stark County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 374,853. Its county seat is Canton. The county was created in 1808 and organized the next year. It is named for John Stark, an officer in th ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palmer, Lew 1875 births 1945 deaths 19th-century players of American football American football ends Princeton Tigers football players College men's track and field athletes in the United States All-American college football players Grinnell College alumni Sportspeople from Adrian, Michigan Players of American football from Michigan