Chester Harding (December 31, 1866 – November 11, 1936) was Governor of the Panama Canal Zone from 1917 to 1921.

Biography

Harding was born on December 31, 1866, in Enterprise, Mississippi. His father was a civil engineer and his older brother

William P. G. Harding William Proctor Gould Harding (May 5, 1864 – April 7, 1930) was an American banker who served as the second chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1916 to 1922. Prior to his term as chairman, Harding appointed a member of the Federal Reserve Boar ...

later became the second

chair of the Federal Reserve The chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is the head of the Federal Reserve, and is the active executive officer of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. The chair shall preside at the meetings of the Boa ...

. His early education having been supplemented by training from his father at home, Chester Harding was able to complete the requirements for a Bachelors in Engineering from the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the publi ...

in 1884 while only seventeen years old. He later graduated fourth in his class from the

United States Military Academy at West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

in 1889. Harding was commissioned in the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

. Harding taught civil and military engineering at West Point from August 1896 to February 1899. During the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (cloc ...

, he was temporarily reassigned to the defense of

Narragansett Bay Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound covering , of which is in Rhode Island. The bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor and includes a small archipelago. Sm ...

in Rhode Island. Harding was promoted to major in June 1906. He taught civil engineering at the Army Engineer School from October 1906 to July 1907. Harding was appointed Division Engineer of Gatun Locks Division in 1907. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in February 1913. Harding served a term from 1913 to 1914 as one of the commissioners in charge of the District of Columbia. Harding was appointed the Panama Canal maintenance engineer in January 1915. He then served as governor of Panama Canal Zone from January 1917 to March 1921. Harding was promoted to colonel in May 1917. He retired from active duty in the Army on March 31, 1920 and was advanced to brigadier general on the retired list the following day. Harding completed the last year of his gubernatorial term as a civilian. During his later years, Harding lived in

Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts Vineyard Haven is a community within the town of Tisbury, Massachusetts on the island of Martha's Vineyard. It is listed as a census-designated place (CDP) by the U.S. Census Bureau with a population of 2,114 as of the 2010 census. The area wa ...

. He took up portrait painting, which had been the profession of his grandfather Chester Harding, and received training at

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

from 1923 to 1927. Harding painted portraits of the first four Canal Zone governors:

George Washington Goethals George Washington Goethals ( June 29, 1858 – January 21, 1928) was a United States Army General and civil engineer, best known for his administration and supervision of the construction and the opening of the Panama Canal. He was the State E ...

Jay Johnson Morrow Jay Johnson Morrow (February 20, 1870 – April 16, 1937) was Chief Engineer of the United States First Army and as Deputy Chief Engineer of the American Expeditionary Force during World War I and Governor of the Panama Canal Zone from 1921 to 1 ...

Meriwether Lewis Walker Meriwether Lewis Walker (September 30, 1869 – July 29, 1947) was an officer in the United States Army with the rank of Brigadier General, who served as a Governor of the Panama Canal Zone from 1924 to 1928. Biography Walker was born on Septem ...

and a self-portrait of himself. Harding died on November 11, 1936, in

Whitinsville, Massachusetts Whitinsville is an unincorporated village within the town of Northbridge in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Whitinsville is a census-designated place (CDP) and its population was 6,750 at the 2020 census. Whitinsville is pronoun ...

. He was interred at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

three days later.

References

External links

Panama Canal Authority biography
1866 births 1936 deaths People from Clarke County, Mississippi University of Alabama alumni United States Military Academy alumni Military personnel from Alabama United States Army Corps of Engineers personnel United States Military Academy faculty American military personnel of the Spanish–American War Members of the Board of Commissioners for the District of Columbia Governors of the Panama Canal Zone United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army generals People from Tisbury, Massachusetts Burials at Arlington National Cemetery {{US-gov-bio-stub