Paul Aaron Langevin Doty (May 30, 1869 – March 3, 1938) was an American

mechanical engineer Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations of ...

, vice-president and general manager of the St. Paul Gas Light Co., president of St. Paul Trust and Savings Bank, and investor.''Who's who in Finance and Banking,'' 1922. p. 195 He was the 53rd president of the

American Society of Mechanical Engineers The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via "continuing ...

in the year 1934–35.

Biography

Family and education

Doty was born in

Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,690 i ...

as son of William Henry Harrison Doty and Anna (Langevin) Doty in 1869. He was a seventh in line descent from

Edward Doty Edward Doty (August 23, 1655) was a passenger on the 1620 voyage of the ''Mayflower'' to North America; he was one of the signers of the Mayflower Compact. Early life Doty came from England, but from where in England is currently unknown. A pos ...

, Pilgrim passenger in the ''

Mayflower ''Mayflower'' was an English ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After a grueling 10 weeks at sea, ''Mayflower'', with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, r ...

'' in 1620, and one of the signers of the

Mayflower Compact The Mayflower Compact, originally titled Agreement Between the Settlers of New Plymouth, was the first governing document of Plymouth Colony. It was written by the men aboard the ''Mayflower,'' consisting of separatist Puritans, adventurers, an ...

. Doty obtained his MSc in mechanical engineering from the

Stevens Institute of Technology Stevens Institute of Technology is a private research university in Hoboken, New Jersey. Founded in 1870, it is one of the oldest technological universities in the United States and was the first college in America solely dedicated to mechanical ...

in 1888. For his graduation Doty made experiments on the

naphtha engine A naphtha launch, sometimes called a "vapor launch", was a small motor launch, powered by a naphtha engine. They were a particularly American design, brought into being by a local law that made it impractical to use a steam launch for private u ...

, of which the results were published in ''The Iron Age'' magazine.

Further career

After his graduation in 1888, Doty started the first half of his career in the

gas industry The petroleum industry, also known as the oil industry or the oil patch, includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transportation (often by oil tankers and pipelines), and marketing of petroleum products. The large ...

. In 1904 he was appointed vice-president and general manager of the St. Paul Gas Light Company, the Edison Electric Light and Power Company of

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississip ...

. This lasted until September, 1917, when he was appointed Major of the general staff of the U.S. Army. In 1910 Doty had also been elected President of the Business League of St. Paul. He had joined the

Minnesota National Guard The Minnesota National Guard is a state-based military force of more than 13,000 soldiers and airmen, serving in 61 communities across the state. Operated in the U.S. state of Minnesota, it is reserve component of the National Guard. The Cons ...

, where in 1916 he obtained the rank of Brigadier General and Commissary General. In the late 1910s he was also appointed vice-president and managing director of St. Paul Trust and Savings Bank, After his serves at the U.S. Army he was appointed chairman of the Minnesota Board of Registration for Architects, Engineers and Land Surveyors. In 1922 he had accepted the Democratic nomination for

Member of Congress A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

from the fourth district of Minnesota, but the Republican Oscar Keller took the seat. In 1923 Doty was appointed president of the St. Paul Association of Commerce.Stevens Indicator.'' Vol. 56, 1936. p. 22 In 1917 he served as Vice President of

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via "continuing ...

, and in 1934–35 as its president.American Society of Mechanical Engineers, ''Transactions of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.'' Volume 56. 1934, p. 939. In 1934 Dorr also returned in U.S. Government service one last time as regional reconditioning supervisor with the

Home Owners Loan Corporation The Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC) was a government-sponsored corporation created as part of the New Deal. The corporation was established in 1933 by the Home Owners' Loan Corporation Act under the leadership of President Franklin D. Roo ...

, supervising the States of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Alabama.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Doty, Paul Aaron 1869 births 1937 deaths American mechanical engineers American investors Stevens Institute of Technology alumni People from Hoboken, New Jersey Presidents of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Engineers from New Jersey