Bion J. Arnold
{{Short description|American engineer (1861–1942)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date= June 2021}}
{{Infobox military person
| honorific_prefix =
| name = Bion Joseph Arnold
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| image = Bion J Arnold (cropped).jpg
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| birth_date = {{birth date|1861|08|14}}
| birth_place = Casnovia, Michigan
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1942|01|29|1861|08|14}}
| death_place = Chicago, Illinois
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| branch = United States Army
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| rank = lieutenant colonel
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Bion Joseph Arnold (August 14, 1861 – January 29, 1942) was an American engineer. He is remembered as "father of the third rail",Current Biography 1942, p. 33 a pioneer in electrical engineering, and an urban mass transportation expert who helped design New York's Interborough Rapid Transit subway system. He also served as a lieutenant colonel during World War I in the Aviation Section of the Signal Corps.
Early life
Arnold was born in Casnovia, Michigan on August 14, 1861.{{sfnp|Marquis Who's Who|1975|p=16}}{{cite journal|last1=Martin|first1=Thomas Commerford|title=Bion Joseph Arnold An Engineer Who Is the Right-hand Man of Public Service Commissions|journal=Scientific American|date=September 9, 1911|url=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/bion-joseph-arnold/}}
Civilian career
After graduating from Hillsdale College in Michigan and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1897, Arnold set up his own company in Chicago at a time when railroads were converting their power sources from steam to electricity. In 1898, Arnold developed a new method of converting alternating current from power plants to direct current in substations for the Chicago & Milwaukee Electric Railway. This innovative electrification system would eventually become a standard in the interurban and street railway industries.{{cite book |last=Tobin |first=Edward W. |date=2008 |title=Before the North Shore Line: The Early Years 1894-1916 |page=37 |location=Chicago, Illinois |publisher=Central Electric Railfans Association |isbn=978-0915348411 }} Between 1898 and 1912, he assisted the New York Central Railroad and the Hudson River Railroad in conversion of their lines leading into Grand Central Terminal.{{cite web|url=http://www.nypl.org|title=The New York Public Library|website=NYPL.org|publisher=|access-date=}}
When the Interborough Rapid Transit's first line opened in 1904, the subway proved to be more popular than envisioned. By 1908, a system designed for a maximum of 600,000 passengers per day was being used by 800,000. Arnold was called upon again to solve the problem. His solution was to place automatic speed control devices on the trains themselves, so that more trains could be run during each hour.Clifton Hood, "The Impact of the IRT on New York City", Historical American Engineering Record survey number HAER NY-122, pp. 146–147, from www.nycsubway.org/articles/haer-impact-irt, retrieved September 3, 2007
Arnold also assisted in the conversion of electrified railways in Los Angeles and Pittsburgh, and the cable car systems in San Francisco. Arnold was president of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers from 1903 to 1904.{{cite web |url=http://www.ieeeghn.org/wiki/index.php/Bion_J._Arnold |title=Bion J. Arnold |author= |date= |work=IEEE Global History Network |publisher=IEEE |access-date=8 August 2011}}
Military career
On December 14, 1917, Arnold transferred to the regular Army as a lieutenant colonel in the Aviation Section of the Signal Corps. He was assigned to aircraft equipment production in Washington, DC. He was honorably discharged on Feb. 6, 1919. He was a colonel in the inactive reserve after 1929.{{sfnp|Marquis Who's Who|1975|p=16}}
Personal life
Arnold lived in Chicago, Illinois.{{sfnp|Marquis Who's Who|1975|p=16}}
Death and legacy
Arnold died at his home in Chicago on January 29, 1942, and is buried in Ashland Cemetery, in his hometown of Ashland, Nebraska.{{sfnp|Marquis Who's Who|1975|p=16}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/106148773/bion-j-arnold-81-consulting/ |title=Bion J. Arnold, 81, Consulting Engineer, Dies |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |page=14 |date=1942-01-30 |access-date=2022-07-23 |via=Newspapers.com}}
Footnote
{{Reflist}}
References
- {{cite book |last=Greller |first=James Clifford |title=The Men who Pioneered Electric Transportation |date=2014 |location=West Orange, NJ |publisher=Xplorer Press Inc. |isbn=978-0-9853551-0-4 |oclc=918986909 }}
- {{cite book |last=Marquis Who's Who |title=Who Was Who in American History - The Military |date=1975 |publisher=Marquis Who's Who |location=Chicago, IL |isbn=978-0-8379-3201-9 |oclc=636066092 }}
External links
- {{Find a Grave|41926778}}
{{Authority control}}
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Category:Hillsdale College alumni
Category:American electrical engineers
Category:American railroad pioneers
Category:American railroad mechanical engineers
Category:United States Army officers
Category:Military personnel from Chicago
Category:People from Kent County, Michigan