William S. Murray
Encyclopedia
William S. Murray was an American
engineer. Lake Murray
in South Carolina is named after him.
, the fourth child of Elizabeth Murray Spencer and James Daniel Murray. Murray graduated from Lehigh University
in 1895 with a degree in electrical engineering. While at Lehigh, Murray was a member of Chi Phi
, Sword and Crescent (senior honorary society), and E. E. Society.
plant in East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
. He rose through the positions of testing room engineer, construction engineer on the road, district engineer of New England, and sales engineer before becoming an independent electrical engineering consultant based out of Boston from 1902 to 1905. As a consulting engineer, he was the chief engineer for the electrification of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
.
He formed the engineering firm McHenry & Murray with E.H. McHenry in 1913 and in 1915 completed the New Haven electrification, then became involved in hydroelectric development on the Housatonic River
in Connecticut
. Murray entered the Housatonic Power Co. as assistant to the president, afterward becoming president himself. When the company merged into the Connecticut Light & Power Company
, Murray became the new corporation's chief engineer.
By 1921, he was a senior member of the engineering firm Murray & Flood with Henry Flood, Jr. Murray & Flood were retained by T.C. Williams in 1923 to develop hydroelectric power plans in South Carolina, which resulted in the Saluda Dam
. The lake created by the dam was named Lake Murray
after him.
Murray held memberships in the American Institute of Electrical Engineers
and Engineers' Club of New York.
. (She died in 1943.) The couple had three sons, Richard, John, and William Jr..
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
engineer. Lake Murray
Lake Murray (South Carolina)
Lake Murray is a reservoir in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is approximately 50,000 acres in size, and has roughly 500 miles of shoreline. It was impounded in the late 1920s to provide hydroelectric power to the state of South Carolina. Lake Murray is fed by the Saluda River, which flows...
in South Carolina is named after him.
Early life and education
William Spencer Murray was born August 4, 1873, in Annapolis, MarylandAnnapolis, Maryland
Annapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland, as well as the county seat of Anne Arundel County. It had a population of 38,394 at the 2010 census and is situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east of Washington, D.C. Annapolis is...
, the fourth child of Elizabeth Murray Spencer and James Daniel Murray. Murray graduated from Lehigh University
Lehigh University
Lehigh University is a private, co-educational university located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the United States. It was established in 1865 by Asa Packer as a four-year technical school, but has grown to include studies in a wide variety of disciplines...
in 1895 with a degree in electrical engineering. While at Lehigh, Murray was a member of Chi Phi
Chi Phi
The Chi Phi ' Fraternity is an American College Social Fraternity that was established as the result of the merger of three separate organizations that were each known as Chi Phi. The oldest active organization that took part in the union was originally founded in 1824 at Princeton...
, Sword and Crescent (senior honorary society), and E. E. Society.
Career
Murray began his career as an apprentice at the Westinghouse ElectricWestinghouse Electric (1886)
Westinghouse Electric was an American manufacturing company. It was founded in 1886 as Westinghouse Electric Company and later renamed Westinghouse Electric Corporation by George Westinghouse. The company purchased CBS in 1995 and became CBS Corporation in 1997...
plant in East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
East Pittsburgh is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, about southeast of the confluence of the Monongahela and the Allegheny rivers at Pittsburgh. The population in 1900 stood at 2,883, and in 1910, at 5,615. As of the 2010 census, the borough population was 1,822, having fallen from...
. He rose through the positions of testing room engineer, construction engineer on the road, district engineer of New England, and sales engineer before becoming an independent electrical engineering consultant based out of Boston from 1902 to 1905. As a consulting engineer, he was the chief engineer for the electrification of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , was a railroad that operated in the northeast United States from 1872 to 1968 which served the states of Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts...
.
He formed the engineering firm McHenry & Murray with E.H. McHenry in 1913 and in 1915 completed the New Haven electrification, then became involved in hydroelectric development on the Housatonic River
Housatonic River
The Housatonic River is a river, approximately long, in western Massachusetts and western Connecticut in the United States. It flows south to southeast, and drains about of southwestern New England into Long Island Sound...
in Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
. Murray entered the Housatonic Power Co. as assistant to the president, afterward becoming president himself. When the company merged into the Connecticut Light & Power Company
Northeast Utilities
Northeast Utilities is a publicly-traded, Fortune 500 energy company headquartered in Berlin, Connecticut, with several regulated subsidiaries offering retail electricity and natural gas service to more than 2.1 million customers in New England....
, Murray became the new corporation's chief engineer.
By 1921, he was a senior member of the engineering firm Murray & Flood with Henry Flood, Jr. Murray & Flood were retained by T.C. Williams in 1923 to develop hydroelectric power plans in South Carolina, which resulted in the Saluda Dam
Saluda Dam
The Saluda Dam is an earthen embankment dam located approximately 10 miles west of Columbia, South Carolina on the Saluda River. Construction on the dam began in 1927 and was completed in 1930. The purpose of the dam is flood control, hydroelectricity, recreation and water supply...
. The lake created by the dam was named Lake Murray
Lake Murray (South Carolina)
Lake Murray is a reservoir in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is approximately 50,000 acres in size, and has roughly 500 miles of shoreline. It was impounded in the late 1920s to provide hydroelectric power to the state of South Carolina. Lake Murray is fed by the Saluda River, which flows...
after him.
Murray held memberships in the American Institute of Electrical Engineers
American Institute of Electrical Engineers
The American Institute of Electrical Engineers was a United States based organization of electrical engineers that existed between 1884 and 1963, when it merged with the Institute of Radio Engineers to form the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers .- History :The 1884 founders of the...
and Engineers' Club of New York.
Marriage and children
Murray married Ella Day Rush on May 26, 1905 in Catskill, New YorkCatskill (town), New York
Catskill is a town in the southeast part of Greene County, New York, United States. The population was 11,775 at the 2010 census. The western part of the town is in the Catskill Park....
. (She died in 1943.) The couple had three sons, Richard, John, and William Jr..
Published works
- Electrification Analyzed, and its practical application to trunk line roads, inclusive of freight and passenger operation
- A Superpower System for the Region Between Boston and Washington (US Government Print Office, 1921)
- Government Owned and Controlled Compared with Privately Owned and Regulated Electric Utilities in Canada & the United States with Henry Flood, Jr. (National Electric Light Association, 1922)
- Superpower: Its Genesis and Future
Awards and honors
- 1916: Howard N. Potts Medal, for his work in main line electricityElectricityElectricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...