William Lamont Abbott (February 14, 1861 – February 20, 1951) was an American

mechanical engineer Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations of ...

, chief operating engineer of

Commonwealth Edison Commonwealth Edison, commonly known by syllabic abbreviation as ComEd, is the largest electric utility in Illinois, and the in Chicago and much of Northern Illinois. Its service territory stretches roughly from Iroquois County on the south to ...

, president of the board of trustees of the University of Illinois, and president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 1926–27.

Biography

Youth and early career

Abbott was born in

Morrison, Illinois Morrison is a city in Whiteside County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,188 at the 2010 census, down from 4,447 in 2000. It is the county seat of Whiteside County. It is located on the Historic Lincoln Highway, the nation's first t ...

in Whiteside County as son of Asa McFarland Abbott and Sarah (Sperry) Abbott. He obtained his MSc in mechanical engineering in 1884 from the

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univer ...

.James Herbert Kelley (1913), ''The Alumni Record of the University of Illinois.'' p. 123 After his graduation in 1884, Abbott started his career as machinist and draftsman in the industry. In 1885 in cooperation with F. A. Wunder he founded Wunder & Abbott Illuminating Co, one of the first arc-lighting companies in Chicago, which supplied arc lighting service in the central business district of the city.''Platts Power.'' Vol. 51. 1920. p. 667

Further career

The company Wunder & Abbott Illuminating, eventually, was bought by the Chicago Edison Co., the predecessors of Commonwealth Edison. From 1888 to 1894 Abbott was president and manager at the National Electric Construction Company. In 1894 he joined

, where he made it chief operating engineer. He retired in 1935, after 50 years in the industry.'' Abbott served as President of the Board of Trustees at the University of Illinois. In the year 1926-27 Abbott served as president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. In 1942 he was awarded the

Washington Award The Washington Award is an American engineering award. Since 1916 it has been given annually for "accomplishments which promote the happiness, comfort, and well-being of humanity". It is awarded jointly by the following engineering societies: Amer ...

by the Western Society of Engineers. The University Power Plant of the University of Illinois, which entered service on September 1, 1940, was named after him.William Lamont Abbott Power Plant
at uihistories.library.illinois.edu. Accessed 2017-09-11.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abbott, William L. 1861 births 1951 deaths American mechanical engineers Engineers from Illinois Grainger College of Engineering alumni Leaders of the University of Illinois People from Whiteside County, Illinois Presidents of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers