John William Kendrick (October 14, 1853 – February 16, 1924) was chief engineer, general manager and vice-president of the Northern Pacific Railway and later vice-chairman of the board of the

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison, Kansas, Atchison and Top ...

Biography

He was born on October 14, 1853. He entered railway service in 1879 as levelman construction party in

Yellowstone River The Yellowstone River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately long, in the Western United States. Considered the principal tributary of upper Missouri, via its own tributaries it drains an area with headwaters across the mountains a ...

Valley for the

Northern Pacific Railroad The Northern Pacific Railway was a transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest. It was approved by Congress in 1864 and given nearly of land grants, whi ...

, since which he has been consecutively 1879 to 1880, location work; 1880 to 1883, in charge of construction of 160 miles of Missouri and Yellowstone divisions; 1883 to 1888, chief engineer, St. Paul and Northern Pacific Railroad, in charge of main line and terminals between

Brainerd, Minnesota Brainerd is a city in Crow Wing County, Minnesota, United States. Its population was 14,395 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Crow Wing County. Brainerd straddles the Mississippi River several miles upstream from its confluence with ...

and St. Paul, Minnesota; 1888 to July, 1893, chief engineer, Northern Pacific Railroad and leased lines; July, 1893, to February 1, 1899, general manager for receivers, same road and reorganized road, the Northern Pacific Railway; February 1, 1899 to date 901 second vice-president. From June 5, 1901, to October 4, 1905, Kendrick was third vice-president

, in charge of operation. From October 4, 1905, to June, 1911, he vice-president in charge of operation. From 1911 onwards he was a consulting railway expert. John William Kendrick was later vice-chairman of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. In the 1890s he formulated the engineering plans the reconstruction of the Northern Pacific Railway after its construction era, a period during which the Northern Pacific endured two receiverships and corporate reorganizations. At the dawn of the Twentieth Century he joined the Santa Fe, helping usher in an era of scientific management on that road. John William Kendrick played a vital and active role in the construction and formulation of business policies at two of the largest corporations in the American West. He died on February 16, 1924.

References

* Bryant, Keith L. Jr. ''History of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway.'' Lincoln eb. University of Nebraska Press, 1992, various. * Busbey, T. Addison, editor. ''The Biographical Directory of the Railway Officials of America, 1901 edition.'' Chicago ll. Railway Age and Northwestern Railroader, 1901, p. 298. * No author. ''Men of 1914: An Accurate Biographical Record of Prominent Men in All Walks of Life Who Have Achieved Success in Their Chosen Vocations in the Various Civil, Industrial, and Commercial Lines of Activity.'' Chicago: American Publishers' Association, 1915. Available on the Web at ''en.wikisource.org/wiki/Men_of_1914/K''. * ''WPI Journal.'' "People of the Century: Building Iron Rails." Worcester Polytechnic Institute: Spring, 1988. Available on the Web at: ''www.wpi.edu/News/Journal/Spring98/rails.html.'' Ironically, four of the five WPI civil engineering graduates listed in this article are early veterans of the Northern Pacific! {{DEFAULTSORT:Kendrick, John William 1853 births 1924 deaths People from Worcester, Massachusetts Northern Pacific Railway people Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway people American civil engineers Worcester Polytechnic Institute alumni

Biography

References

Further reading