Theodore Ernest Ferris (August 17, 1872 – May 30, 1953) was an American

naval architect This is the top category for all articles related to architecture and its practitioners. {{Commons category, Architecture occupations Design occupations Architecture, Occupations ...

and engineer responsible for the "Ferris Designs" used by the US

Emergency Fleet Corporation The Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC) was established by the United States Shipping Board, sometimes referred to as the War Shipping Board, on 16 April 1917 pursuant to the Shipping Act (39 Stat. 729) to acquire, maintain, and operate merchant shi ...

, of the

United States Shipping Board The United States Shipping Board (USSB) was established as an emergency agency by the 1916 Shipping Act (39 Stat. 729), on September 7, 1916. The United States Shipping Board's task was to increase the number of US ships supporting the World War ...

, during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Early life

Ferris was born in

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 2020 ...

, the son of Nathaniel Betts and Louise (Keeler) Ferris. He was educated in Stamford and later at the

Greenwich Academy , motto_translation = Toward the Building of Character , gender = Girls , head_name = Head , head = Molly H. King , streetaddress = 200 North Maple Ave , city = Greenwich , county = Fairfield County , state = Connecticut , country = U ...

, where he took a technical training course. After a period of employment at shipyards on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

, he joined the Townsend-Downey Company on

Shooters Island Shooters Island is a uninhabited island at the southern end of Newark Bay, off the North Shore of Staten Island in New York City. The boundary between the states of New York and New Jersey runs through the island, with a small portion on the ...

and later the firm of Cary Smith & Ferris.

Emergency Fleet Corporation

In 1917, the

(EFC) was established by the

under General Goethals with Ferris as chief architect. His 3,500- deadweight-ton

Design 1001 ship The Design 1001 ship (full name Emergency Fleet Corporation Design 1001) was a wood-hull (watercraft), hulled cargo ship design approved for production by the United States Shipping Boards Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFT) in World War I. They we ...

(known as the "Ferris Design") wooden

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

became the model for the EFC, of which 63 were subsequently built. He also invented a system of steel strapping for fixing the frames of his ships.

Personal life

Ferris married Lois Davis on August 25, 1912. They had two children, Nathaniel James and Theodore Louis Ferris. He died in

Wallington, New Jersey Wallington is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 11,335,The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' repeated an estimate that US shipyards built over 1,800 ships to his designs. The 55-meter

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

''Shenandoah'' is still sailing today.

Works

References

External links

The Ferris wooden cargo ships of World War I
1872 births 1953 deaths Engineers from Connecticut American naval architects American yacht designers People from Stamford, Connecticut 20th-century American engineers {{US-engineer-stub