![]() | Panama Canal Centennial online exhibit Auteur(s) : George A. Smathers Libraries ( host institution ) Santamaria-Wheeler, Lourdes ( designer ) University of Florida -- Friends of the Panama Canal Museum ( sponsor ) Résumé : (System Details) Mode of access: World Wide Web. (Dates or Sequential Designation) Began in 2014 Title from home page (viewed November 14, 2014). "The Panama Canal Centennial exhibition online (Canal 100) is sponsored by Friends of the Panama Canal Museum Collection at the University of Florida." Contributors: Suzan Alteri, Jessica Belcoure, Megan Daly, Katy Estes-Smargiassi, Rebecca Fitzsimmons, Christina Johnson, Carly Kosmacki, Carol McAuliffe, Amara McMann, Lourdes Santamaría-Wheeler, Colleen Seale, Nina Stoyan-Rosenzweig, Margarita Vargas-Betancourt, Shelley Arlen, Susan Cooksey, Chloe Dye, Jennifer Farrington, Michael Howell, Heidi Kershner, Paul Losch, Peter McKay, Claudia Perlini, Nancy Schaefer, Tom Southall, Rachel Turner, Jessie Ward. (Statement of Responsibility) organized by the George A. Smathers Libraries ; designed by Lourdes Santamaría-Wheeler . Panama Panama Canal Panama Canal (Panama) Panama Canal (Panama) Droits : Permission granted to University of Florida to digitize and display this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder. 895249063 ocn895249063 http://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00027131/00001 | Partager |
![]() | Copy of resignation letter from John F. Stevens to President Theodore Roosevelt Auteur(s) : Stevens, John F. (John Frank), 1853-1943 ( Author, Primary ) Résumé : (Biographical) From Wikipedia: John Frank Stevens (25 April 1853 – 2 June 1943) was an American engineer who built the Great Northern Railway in the United States and was chief engineer on the Panama Canal between 1905 and 1907. Biography: Stevens was born in rural Maine, near West Gardiner to John Stevens, a tanner and farmer, and Harriet Leslie French. He attended Maine State Normal School (now the University of Maine at Farmington) for two years. At the conclusion of his schooling in 1873, bleak economic conditions held little promise of a job, and he chose to go west. Entry into the field of civil engineering evolved from his experience in the Minneapolis city engineer's office. For two years he carried out a variety of engineering tasks, including surveying and building railroads, and at the same time gained experience and an understanding of the subject. He became a practical engineer, self-taught and driven by a self-described "bull-dog tenacity of purpose." In 1878 Stevens married Harriet T. O'Brien. They had five children, two of whom died in infancy.
By the age of 33, in 1886, Stevens was principal assistant engineer for the Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railway, and in charge of building the line from Duluth, Minnesota to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Although a large part of his work involved surveying, he assisted in all phases of railroading: reconnaissance, locating, organizing, and construction.
In 1889, Stevens was hired by James J. Hill as a locating engineer for the Great Northern Railway.
Stevens earned wide acclaim in 1889 when he explored Marias Pass, Montana, and determined its practicability for a railroad. Stevens was an efficient administrator with remarkable technical skills and imagination. He discovered Stevens Pass through the Cascade Mountains, set railroad construction standards in the Mesabi Range of northern Minnesota, and supervised construction of the Oregon Trunk Line. Hill promoted him to chief engineer in 1895, and later to general manager. During his time at the Great Northern, Stevens built over a thousand miles of railroad, including the original Cascade Tunnel. Stevens Pass in the Cascade Range was named for him. (Most other Pacific Northwest landmarks with the word "Stevens" are named after Isaac Stevens, who is of no relation.)
Panama Canal:
Stevens left the Great Northern in 1903 for the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad, where he was promoted to vice-president. Then, in 1905, at Hill's recommendation, he was hired by Theodore Roosevelt as chief engineer on the Panama Canal.
Stevens' primary achievement in Panama was to build the infrastructure needed for the completion of the canal. "The digging," he said, "is the least thing of all." He proceeded immediately to build warehouses, machine shops, and piers. Communities for the personnel were planned and built to include housing, schools, hospitals, churches, and hotels. He authorized extensive sanitation and mosquito-control programs that eliminated yellow fever and other diseases from the Isthmus. Reflecting his background, he saw the early stage of the canal project itself as primarily a problem in railroad engineering, which included rebuilding the Panama Railway and devising a rail-based system for disposing of the soil from the excavations. Stevens argued the case against a sea level canal like the French had tried to build. He successfully convinced Theodore Roosevelt of the necessity of a high-level canal built with dams and locks.
Resignation:
Stevens resigned suddenly from the Canal project in 1907 to Roosevelt's great annoyance, as the focus of the work turned to construction of the canal itself. As a railroad engineer, Stevens had little expertise in building locks and dams, and probably realized he was no longer the best person for the remainder of the job. Stevens would also have been aware that the original great Cascade Tunnel, for which he was responsible, was in hindsight built in error too close to the ruling grade and was perhaps turning from a credit to a debit. The true reasons for his resignation have never been known.
Subsequent career:
Following the collapse of Imperial Russia in 1917, leaders of the provisional government appealed to President Wilson for help with their transportation systems. Stevens was selected to chair a board of prominent U.S. railroad experts sent to Russia to rationalize and manage a system that was in disarray; among his work was on the Trans-Siberian Railway. After the overthrow of the provisional government, the board's work ceased. Stevens remained in Allied-occupied Manchuria and in 1919 headed the Inter-Allied Technical Board charged with the administration and operation of the Chinese Eastern and Siberian railways. He remained in an advisory capacity until occupying Allied troops were withdrawn; he finally left in 1923. After his return to the United States Stevens continued to work as a consulting engineer, ending his career in Baltimore in the early 1930s. He was awarded the Franklin Institute's Franklin Medal in 1930. He then retired to Southern Pines, North Carolina, where he died at the age of 90 in 1943. Digital version only, no paper copy in collection archives. Droits : This item is presumed to be in the public domain. The University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries respect the intellectual property rights of others and do not claim any copyright interest in this item. Users of this work have responsibility for determining copyright status prior to reusing, publishing or reproducing this item for purposes other than what is allowed by fair use or other copyright exemptions. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions may require permission of the copyright holder. The Smathers Libraries would like to learn more about this item and invite individuals or organizations to contact Digital Services (UFDC@uflib.ufl.edu) with any additional information they can provide. http://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00029596/00001 | Partager |
![]() | The role of north American women in U.S. cultural chauvinism in the Panama Canal Zone, 1904-1945 Auteur(s) : Morgan, Paul Woodrow, 1944- Résumé : (Statement of Responsibility) by Paul W. Morgan, Jr. (Thesis) Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2000. (Bibliography) Includes bibliographical references (leaves 249-262). Typescript. Panama Panama Panama Canal (Panama) Canal Zone 45740744 ocm45740744 http://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00013679/00001 | Partager |
![]() | La causa inmediata de la emancipación de Panamá Auteur(s) : Castillero R., Ernesto J ( Ernesto de Jesús Castillero Reyes ), 1889- Éditeur(s) : Imprenta nacional Imprenta nacional ( Panamá ) Résumé : (Bibliography) Bibliografía (p. [179-181] (Statement of Responsibility) Por Ernesto J. Castillero R. ... "Estudio presentado por su autor a la Academia panameña de la historia, en la sesión celebrada el 27 de octubre de 1932, al tomar asiento en dicha corporación como miembro de número y recibir su diploma de correspondiente de la Academia de Madrid." Panama Panama canal (Panama) Colombia United States United States Colombia 000228165 23922697 AAZ5448 | Partager |
![]() | Translations of certain documents of title and other related papers pertaining to conveyances of real property, or interest therein, made to or by the Universal Interoceanic Canal Company, on the Isthmus of Panama, between the years 1881 and 1889, both inclusive Auteur(s) : Compagnie universelle du canal interocéanique de Panama United States -- Bureau of Insular Affairs Résumé : (Statement of Responsibility) compiled under the direction of the Law Officer of the Insular Bureau, November, 1905. (Language) Translations in English, chiefly from Spanish but with some translated from a French translation of the original Spanish. Some documents have summaries in Spanish. Typescript. French Canal (Panama) 865003817 ocn865003817 2013.16.1 http://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00019315/00001 | Partager |