Frederick Stark Pearson (July 3, 1861 – May 7, 1915) was an American electrical engineer and

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values t ...

Biography

Dr. Frederick Stark Pearson was the son of Ambrose and Hannah (Edgerly) Pearson. He graduated from

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

in 1883 with an A.M.B. and received an A.M.M. degree one year later. Previously, for one year (1879–80), he was instructor in chemistry in the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

; later (1883–86), he was instructor in mathematics and applied mechanics at Tufts College. From college, he went on to develop the electric transportation system in

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, with electric powered streetcars of major importance, in 1894 he was appointed the head engineer for Metropolitan Street Railways in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. Pearson built a reputation as an innovative electrical engineer in the United States and he was soon contracted by governments and businesses as a consulting engineer for power generating stations throughout North America. A man with great business skills and a foresight, with ready financial backers he undertook major projects in

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

. He was the Founder of Barcelona Traction and

São Paulo Tramway, Light and Power Company São Paulo Tramway, Light and Power Company, also known as Light São Paulo or simply Light (), was a privately owned utility company operating in São Paulo, Brazil from 1899 until 1981. History Canadians William Mackenzie and Frederick Star ...

which is now

Brookfield Asset Management Brookfield Asset Management Inc. is a Canadian multinational company that is one of the world's largest alternative investment management companies, with over US$725 billion of assets under management in 2022. It focuses on direct contro ...

. While in Canada, he developed a relationship with a bright and aggressive young lawyer/stockbroker in

Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pe ...

by the name of James Dunn. Pearson encouraged Dunn to take up residency in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, at the time the most important financial market in the world. With Dunn's brokerage house underwriting his ventures share offerings, sufficient capital was raised to allow Pearson to create a massive business empire that included the

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, the Mexican North Western Railway, the Mexican Tramway Company, and the Mexican Light and Power Company in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, and the

British American Nickel Company British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

in Canada. Unstable governments in Mexico along with rampant bribery and corruption of public officials caused Pearson considerable grief. The government of president

Venustiano Carranza José Venustiano Carranza de la Garza (; 29 December 1859 – 21 May 1920) was a Mexican wealthy land owner and politician who was Governor of Coahuila when the constitutionally elected president Francisco I. Madero was overthrown in a Februa ...

nationalized his Mexican Tramway Company and in the end, he lost virtually everything he had invested in Mexico. During this time, he was behind the 1911 construction of the Medina Dam on the

Medina River The Medina River is located in south central Texas, United States, in the Medina Valley. It was also known as the Rio Mariano, Rio San Jose, or Rio de Bagres (Catfish river). Its source is in springs in the Edwards Plateau in northwest Bander ...

in what is now

Mico, Texas Mico is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community in northeastern Medina County, Texas, Medina County, Texas, United States. It is approximately west of Downtown San Antonio off Farm to Market Road 1283. The community is part of the San Ant ...

and built an irrigation district encompassing more than 34,000 acres (138 km²). The town of Pearson, Texas was named in his honor. In 1912, he organized a syndicate in

Hale County, Texas Hale County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 32,522. The county seat is Plainview. The county was created in 1876 and organized in 1888. It is named for Lt. John C. Hale, a hero of the B ...

near Plainview for drilling irrigation wells to irrigate about 60,000 acres (243 km²). During the course of his work in Texas, Pearson founded the town of Natalia, naming it after his daughter, Natalie Pearson Nicholson. In 1913, he negotiated a deal with the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

government for a hydro project on the

Ebro River , name_etymology = , image = Zaragoza shel.JPG , image_size = , image_caption = The Ebro River in Zaragoza , map = SpainEbroBasin.png , map_size = , map_caption = The Ebro ...

and formed the Barcelona Traction, Light and Power Company to carry out the construction that was completed in 1915. However,

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 ...

limited his activity. He and his wife, Mabel Ward Pearson, lost their lives on May 7, 1915, while travelling to England on business and to visit his daughter Natalie who was then living there. They were on the ocean liner when it was torpedoed off the southern coast of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

by German

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...

. They are interred in Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx, New York City. Pearson Hall, home of the Chemistry Department at Tufts University, is named for him.

References

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''Biography at ''The Lusitania Resource''
*

IEEE.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Pearson, Frederick Stark 1861 births 1915 deaths Engineers from Massachusetts American financiers Deaths on the RMS Lusitania People from Lowell, Massachusetts Tufts University School of Engineering alumni 19th-century American businesspeople