William George Besler (March 30, 1865 - May 20, 1942) was president of the

Central Railroad of New Jersey The Central Railroad of New Jersey, also known as the Jersey Central or Jersey Central Lines , was a Class I railroad with origins in the 1830s. It was absorbed into Conrail in April 1976 along with several other prominent bankrupt railroads of ...

Biography

He was born in Galesburg, Illinois, to John Daniel Besler and Anna Chapin. He graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1880 with a degree in Engineering. He married Effie B Lewis on 10 October 1888. They had three children: Helen Anajane Besler (1892-1989), George Daniel Besler (1902-1995), and William John Besler (1904-1985). His sons, George and William, went on to make the world's first steam powered aeroplane at Oakland, California, on 12 April 1933. Bessler started working for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad as a trainmaster's clerk in Chicago. He rose through the ranks to become division superintendent of the company's St Louis Division in 1893. In 1900 he moved to Pittsburgh and Reading, becoming their general superintendent by 1903. The Central Railroad of New Jersey employed him in 1903 as general manager. By 1926 he had become chairman of the board. Besler was an active member of the

American Railway Association The American Railway Association (ARA) was an industry trade group representing railroads in the United States. The organization had its inception in meetings of General Managers and ranking railroad operating officials known as Time Table Conventi ...

and became its president when it was renamed the

Association of American Railroads The Association of American Railroads (AAR) is an industry trade group representing primarily the major freight Rail transport, railroads of North America (Canada, Mexico and the United States). Amtrak and some regional Commuter rail in North Am ...

. He was also a director of Gamewell Company, Rockwood Sprinkler Company, Holtzer-Cabot Electric Company, Eagle Signal Corporation, New York Transfer Company, National Railway Publication Company, Lehigh and Hudson River Railway Company, and

Davenport Locomotive Works The Davenport Locomotive Works, of Davenport, Iowa, USA was formed as the W W Whitehead Company in 1901. In 1902 the company commenced building light locomotives. The Company was renamed the Davenport Locomotive Works in 1904. In late 1930 Dave ...

. Besler was also Director and Vice-President of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce. He died on May 20, 1942.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Besler, William George Central Railroad of New Jersey 1865 births 1942 deaths