Person
Smith, Harold Whitmore (1886 - 1933)
- Born
- 8 August 1886
Kent Town, Norwood, South Australia, Australia - Died
- 28 March 1933
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America - Occupation
- Electrical engineer and Mechanical engineer
Summary
Harold W. Smith, BE ME, was a pioneer electrical engineer with the Commonwealth Department of Home Affairs / Department of Works, from 1913 to 1917. He was responsible for the planning of the electrical work for Canberra, and for all Commonwealth building enterprises, including forts, quarantine stations, the woollen mills at Geelong, and dockyards.
In 1907 he was awarded the Angas Engineering Scholarship, from the University of Adelaide, and after studying at Cornell University, he gained valuable engineering experience in America between 1908 - 1913. He met his future wife in America and they married in Sydney when he returned in 1913.
In 1917, when America entered the First World War, Harold sought leave to proceed to the United States to assist in the manufacture of munitions. He planned to return to Australia after the war, but during the 1919 influenza pandemic, his wife died in Pennsylvania. He remarried in 1929 in Pittsburgh, and continued working for Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company. However his career was cut short when he was killed there in a motor car accident in 1933.
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Details
Chronology
- 1902
- Award - Government University Scholarship
- c. 1906 -
- Career position - Practical experience, Strand Electric Lighting Company of Sydney
- c. 1906 -
- Career position - Practical experience, Central Mine, Broken Hill, New South Wales [Working with Noyes Brothers, Sydney]
- 1906
- Education - Bachelor of Science (BSc), University of Adelaide
- 1906
- Education - Diploma of Applied Science, University of Adelaide
- 1906
- Career event - Fellow of the School of Mines and Industries South Australia (FSASM)
- 1907
- Award - Angas Engineering Scholarship, University of Adelaide
- 1908
- Education - Master of Engineering (ME(Mech Eng)), Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
- 1909
- Career position - Engineer, Wagner company of St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- c. 1909 - c. 1911
- Career position - Engineer, Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, USA
- c. 1911 - c. 1912
- Career position - Engineer, Chicago Lake, Shore and South Bend Railway Company, Michigan, USA
- c. 1912 - c. 1913
- Career position - Engineer, San Diego Consolidated Gas and Electric Company, San Diego, California, USA
- 1913
- Life event - Returned to Australia
- 1913
- Education - Bachelor of Engineering (BE), University of Adelaide [In lieu of surrendered degree of BSc]
- 1913 - 1917
- Career position - Assistant Engineer (Electrical), Department of Home Affairs / Department of Works and Railways, Commonwealth of Australia
- 18 Aug 1913
- Life event - Married Edna Ardena Pritchard, in Sydney NSW
- 1914
- Career event - Member, Electrical Association of Australia [Victorian Section]
- 1917
- Life event - Moved to the United States of America [To assist in the manufacture of munitions]
- c. 1918 - 1933
- Career position - Head of the Power Sales Department, Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, USA
Published resources
Journal Articles
- 'Alumni Notes', Cornell Alumni News, 18 (13) (1915), 158, https://hdl.handle.net/1813/26387. Details
- 'New postal buildings, Melbourne (Illustrated)', Commonwealth Engineer, 5 (1) (1917), 5. Details
- 'Obituaries [Harold Whitmore Smith]', Cornell Alumni News, 35 (24) (1933), 305, https://hdl.handle.net/1813/27061. Details
- Smith, Harold W., 'Electric power supply in State of Colorado, U.S.A. (Illustrated)', Commonwealth Engineer, 2 (2) (1914), 85-93. Details
- Smith, Harold W., 'Overhead transmission and distribution lines - I. System suitable for Australian conditions', Commonwealth Engineer, 1 (12) (1914), 392-395. Details
- Smith, Harold W., 'Overhead transmission and distribution lines - II.', Commonwealth Engineer, 2 (1) (1914), 30-35. Details
- Smith, Harold W., 'Electric wiring of buildings - III (Fully illustrated. Concluded)', Commonwealth Engineer, 2 (12) (1915), 420-422. Details
- Smith, Harold W., 'Electric wiring of buildings - II (Illustrated)', Commonwealth Engineer, 2 (11) (1915), 378-380. Details
- Smith, Harold W., 'Electric wiring of buildings (Illustrated)', Commonwealth Engineer, 2 (10) (1915), 351-354. Details
Newspaper Articles
- 'The Angas Engineering Scholarship', Chronicle (Adelaide) (1907), 30, https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article88140048. Awarded to Harold Whitmore Smith. Details
- 'A South Australian scholar', The Advertiser (1913), 6, https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5370778. Details
- 'Men and Matters : Important appoinment for South Australian', The journal (Adelaide) (1913), 1, https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article200876568. Details
- 'Obituary [Harold W. Smith]', The Advertiser (1933), 5, https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article41477196. Details
Ken McInnes
Created: 18 July 2024