William Lawrence Saunders (November 1, 1856 - June 25, 1931) was a

mining engineer Mining in the engineering discipline is the extraction of minerals from underneath, open pit, above or on the ground. Mining engineering is associated with many other disciplines, such as mineral processing, exploration, excavation, geology, and ...

who was chairman of the

Naval Consulting Board The Naval Consulting Board, also known as the Naval Advisory Board (a name used in the 1880s for two previous committees), was a US Navy organization established in 1915 by Josephus Daniels, the Secretary of the Navy at the suggestion of Thomas ...

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 ...

. He was

chairman of the board The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

Ingersoll Rand Ingersoll Rand is an American multinational company that provides flow creation and industrial products. The company was formed in February 2020 through the spinoff of the industrial segment of Ingersoll-Randplc (now known as Trane Technologies) ...

Biography

He was born in 1856 to Reverend William Trebell Saunders and Eliza S. Morton in

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it ...

. His family moved to

Apalachicola, Florida Apalachicola ( ) is a city and the county seat of Franklin County, Florida, United States, on the shore of Apalachicola Bay, an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico. The population was 2,231 at the 2010 census. History The Apalachicola people, after ...

, where his father became the pastor of the Trinity Protestant Episcopal Church. He married Bertha Louise Gaston on August 3, 1886, in

Kingston, Rhode Island Kingston is a village and a census-designated place within the New England town, town of South Kingstown, Rhode Island, South Kingstown in Washington County, Rhode Island, Washington County, Rhode Island, United States, and the site of the main ...

. They had two daughters, Louise Saunders Perkins and Jean Saunders Lancaster. On March 24, 1904, he was made president of the Ingersoll Sergeant Drill Company after the death of

William Russell Grace William Russell Grace (May 10, 1832 – March 21, 1904) was an Irish-American politician, the first Roman Catholic mayor of New York City, and the founder of W. R. Grace and Company. Early life Grace was born in Ireland in Riverstown near the C ...

. In May 1905, the Ingersoll-Sergeant Drill Company and the Rand Drill Company merged into

. He became the first president of the now combined

in 1906. He resided in

North Plainfield, New Jersey North Plainfield is a borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. It is located within the Raritan Valley region. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 21,936,Tenerife Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...

on the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

. He was buried in Hillside Cemetery in

Scotch Plains, New Jersey Scotch Plains is a township in Union County, New Jersey, United States. The township is located on a ridge in northern- central New Jersey, within the Raritan Valley and Rahway Valley regions in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 201 ...

. Saunders was the first president of the New Jersey

Men's League for Women's Suffrage The Men's League for Women's Suffrage may refer to: *The Men's League, United States women's suffrage group, also known as the Men's Equal Suffrage League and the Men's League for Women's Suffrage *The Men's League for Women's Suffrage (United King ...

. He also served as the 1915 president of AIME (American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers). and deputy chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

References

External links

*
William Lawrence Saunders Gold Medal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saunders, William Lawrence 1856 births 1931 deaths Naval Consulting Board Ingersoll Rand people American suffragists The Saunders Gold Medal, established in 1927, recognizes distinguished achievement in mining other than coal. This award is administered by AIME Member Society, SME. <#AIMEHQ.org>