John Herbert Van Deventer (April 24, 1881 – March 5, 1956) was an American

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

, inventor,

trade journal A trade magazine, also called a trade journal or trade paper (colloquially or disparagingly a trade rag), is a magazine or newspaper whose target audience is people who work in a particular trade or industry. The collective term for this a ...

editor, and writer on

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

management Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a Government agency, government bodies through business administration, Nonprofit studies, nonprofit management, or the political s ...

, and

accounting Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the process of recording and processing information about economic entity, economic entities, such as businesses and corporations. Accounting measures the results of an organization's economic activit ...

. In the field of accounting Van Deventer contributed to the theory of

discounted cash flow The discounted cash flow (DCF) analysis, in financial analysis, is a method used to value a security, project, company, or asset, that incorporates the time value of money. Discounted cash flow analysis is widely used in investment finance, re ...

. Robert H. Parker (2013). ''Papers on Accounting History.'' p. 43 During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he served as editor-in-chief of the ''

American Machinist The ''American Machinist'' is an American trade magazine of the international machine industry, machinery industries and most especially their machining aspects. Published since 1877, it was a McGraw-Hill title for over a century before becoming ...

''.

Biography

Born in

Paramus, New Jersey Paramus ( Waggoner, Walter H, ''The New York Times'', February 16, 1966. Accessed October 16, 2018. "Paramus – pronounced puh-RAHM-us, with the accent on the second syllable – may have taken its name from 'perremus' or 'perymus,' Indian for ...

to John Cornelius Van Deventer and Eliza Jane King, Van Deventer was educated as

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 o ...

. In 1903 he obtained his degree in mechanical engineering from Sibley College,

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

,"John Van Deventer Dies at Peach Lake." in ''The Putnar County Courier, Carmel N.Y.'' 1956 with the dissertation, entitled "Mechanical Refrigeration: A Comparison of the Theories and Results of Several Systems." Van Deventer started his career in industry. In 1905 he became superintendent of production, and cost manager, at the pump factory Goulds Manufacturing Company in Seneca Falls. In 1907 he moved to the Buffalo Forge company, where he became general superintendent and factory manager. In 1915 Van Deventer joined the Engineering Management Company, where he became associate editor of the ''

,'' of ''

Industrial Management In economics, industrial organization is a field that builds on the theory of the firm by examining the structure of (and, therefore, the boundaries between) firms and markets. Industrial organization adds real-world complications to the perf ...

,'' and of ''Industry Illustrated.'' From 1917 to 1919 he was Editor-In-Chief of the ''

,'' and from 1921 to 1926 president of the Engineering Management Company. In 1927 he moved to the McGraw Hill Publishing company, where he started as consulting editor. There he was editor for ''The Iron Age'' from 1930 to 1940, and editorial director from 1939 to 1946. The last three years he was also Business Papers Industry. In 1950 he retired. Furthermore Van Deventer was a member of the

American Society of Mechanical Engineers The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via "continuing edu ...

, and of the New York Business Publishing association, where he was chairman in 1923/24 and president in 1924/25.

Selected publications

* Van Deventer, John H.
Handbook of Machine Shop Management
'' McGraw-Hill book Company, Incorporated, 1915. * Van Deventer, John H.
Success in the small shop
' (1916, 2nd ed. 1918). * Van Deventer, John Herbert, et al. ''Manufacture of artillery ammunition.'' McGraw-Hill Book Company, Incorporated, 1917. * Van Deventer, John H.
Making the small shop profitable
'' (1918). * Van Deventer, John H.
Industrial management's Cost control committee plan; detailed instructions for its organization and operation
'' 1922. Articles, a selection: * Van Deventer, John H.
Planning production for profit; tested and selected methods of planning production
" Engineering magazine Company(1921). * Van Deventer, John H. "What Ford is doing and how he does it." ''Industrial Management'' 64 (1922): 130.

Patents

* 1911.
US Patent 996169
' for Rotary engine. * 1912.
US Patent 1026887
' for rotary engine. * 1912.
US Patent 1046687
' for rotary engine. * 1913.
US Patent 1070087
' for metallic packing. * 1918.
US patent 1276454
' for an equipment-index. * 1931.
US Patent 1808695
' for walking toy.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Deventer, John Herbert. 1881 births 1956 deaths American industrial engineers American technology writers Cornell University College of Engineering alumni