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Matsudaira Tadaatsu (松平忠厚) (September 19, 1851 January 24, 1888) was a Japanese civil engineer. He was one of the few members of the
Iwakura Mission The Iwakura Mission or Iwakura Embassy (, ''Iwakura Shisetsudan'') was a Japanese diplomatic voyage to the United States and Europe conducted between 1871 and 1873 by leading statesmen and scholars of the Meiji period. It was not the only such m ...
who stayed 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 territorie ...
after graduating from a college there. He worked in mines in the western United States and
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
.


Early life and education

Matsudaira was born on September 19, 1851
Edo Castle is a flatland castle that was built in 1457 by Ōta Dōkan in Edo, Toshima District, Musashi Province. In modern times it is part of the Tokyo Imperial Palace in Chiyoda, Tokyo and is therefore also known as . Tokugawa Ieyasu established the ...
, which is now part of the Imperial Palace in
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
. His father was , and his older brother was Matsudaira Tadanari. He attended a
Christian church In ecclesiology, the Christian Church is what different Christian denominations conceive of as being the true body of Christians or the original institution established by Jesus. "Christian Church" has also been used in academia as a synonym fo ...
in
Tsukiji Tsukiji (築地) is a district of Chūō, Tokyo, Japan. Literally meaning "reclaimed land", it lies near the Sumida River on land reclaimed from Tokyo Bay in the 18th century during the Edo period. The eponymous Tsukiji fish market opened in 193 ...
. In 1872, Matsudaira went to
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
with Tadanari as part of the Iwakura Mission. They enrolled in
Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...
in
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
. Matsudaira transferred to
Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
and graduated with a degree 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, sewage ...
in 1877. Tadakata ordered both of his sons to return home in 1879, but only Tadanari returned. Matsudaira was one of the only members of the Iwakura Mission to remain in the United States.


Career

After graduation Matsudaira worked for the
Manhattan Elevated Railway The Manhattan Railway Company was an elevated railway company in Manhattan and the Bronx, New York City, United States. It operated four lines: the Second Avenue Line, Third Avenue Line, Sixth Avenue Line, and Ninth Avenue Line. History 19 ...
. While working there, he invented the trigonometer, a surveying tool. He then moved to
Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...
and worked as an engineer at the
Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...
. He later worked in mines in
Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...
and
Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...
. He became the city engineer of
Bradford, Pennsylvania Bradford is a city in McKean County, Pennsylvania, McKean County, Pennsylvania. It is located close to the border with New York (state), New York state and approximately south of Buffalo, New York. Bradford is the principal city in the Bradford, ...
in 1884. While living in Pennsylvania he married and had two children with Cary Sampson, the daughter of Archibald Sampson, a general in the United States Army. One of his children was
Kinjiro Matsudaira was an American inventor and politician who served as the mayor of Edmonston, Maryland in 1927 and 1943. Biography Matsudaira was born in Pennsylvania on September 13, 1885, as the son of a Japanese father, Tadaatsu, and an American mother, ...
, who would later serve as the mayor of
Edmonston, Maryland Edmonston is a town in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 1,445. The community is located from Washington, D.C. Edmonston's ZIP code is 20781. History The area of present-day Edmon ...
. Matsudaira contracted
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
, and the family moved to
Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
in hopes that the dry climate would improve his health. Before he died, he made some maps of the state. He died on January 24, 1888. In 1952 several Japanese Colorodans erected a memorial in Riverside Cemetery in his name. However, even though the memorial stone says that he was the first Japanese person to live in Colorado, the federal census suggests that other Japanese people lived in Colorado before 1890.


Further reading

*


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matsudaira, Tadaatsu 1851 births 1888 deaths Fujii-Matsudaira clan Japanese emigrants to the United States Harvard University alumni Japanese civil engineers Engineers from Tokyo Rutgers University alumni 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in Colorado