Below are the first 10 and last 10 pages of uncorrected machine-read text (when available) of this chapter, followed by the top 30 algorithmically extracted key phrases from the chapter as a whole.
Intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text on the opening pages of each chapter.
Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.
Do not use for reproduction, copying, pasting, or reading; exclusively for search engines.
OCR for page 106
be
.
.
-
Q
by
o
o
OCR for page 107
GAIL ABNER HATHAWAY
1895-1979
BY HERBERT H. VOGEL
GAlL ABNER HATHAWAY, a distinguished civil engineer, died on
October 1, 1979, in Washington, D.C. The great engineers of his-
tory are those who, blessed with breadth and depth of vision and
introspective power of reason, have persevered to make the world a
better and safer place to live. Among such, the name of Gail Abner
Hathaway stands high, for his contributions to the technique of
estimating the magnitude and frequency of floods led directly to the
design of safer structures for the prevention of damages and estab-
lished hydrologic engineering as an important discipline of civil engi-
neering. Criteria developed by him during his long service with the
Corps of Engineers have become bases for the design of spillways
and have influenced to a marked extent the design of all large dams.
Born at Menomonie, Wisconsin, on October 11, 1895, Gail
Hathaway lived there with his parents until going to Oregon State
University for a baccalaureate degree in civil engineering. Following
graduation and marriage to Mary Rosamund Peterson in 1917,
World War I drew him to service with the Army in France. When
the war was over, he went to work in the office of the Oregon State
Engineer. After a few years there, he accepted a position as Hydrau-
lic Engineer with the Corps of Engineers, United States Army, serv-
ing in several field offices until called to the Office of the Chief of
Engineers in Washington, D.C., in 1938, where he served until
retirement in 1957. For the next six years he held the position of
Engineering Consultant to the Department of Technical Operations
of the World Bank, retiring a second time in 1963.
107
OCR for page 108
108
MEMORIAL TRIBUTES
The bare facts thus cited contain few clues to the full extent of Gail
Hathaway's technical achievements or the leadership he exercised in
so many fields. Nor does the summation contained in International
Who's Veto, although in addition to listing his membership and
offices held in national and international technical societies, it points
out that his hobbies embraced golf, fishing, hunting, and genealogy
and thereby reveals more of the whole man. Much more is needed,
however, to portray the remarkable career that served to change
completely the theories that controlled the planning and design of
flood control dams. Revolutionary as these seemed when first
advanced and in spite of jibes about the "Hathaway Flood," time
proved his theories and deductions to be correct, and the dams to
which they were applied have stood the test of time.
So well had he become known as a flood forecaster that he was
called to Europe on October 24, 1944, by General Eisenhower's
Headquarters in Paris to organize a forecasting service to predict
stages and other conditions of flow that would affect the planned
crossings of the Rhine River. For this service he received the Bronze
Star Medal and a Presidential Citation.
Important as were his individual and specific achievements, his
lasting fame rests on the criteria and procedures he developed for the
determination of spillway design floods while in the Office of the
Chief of Engineers. The standards developed there by him, though
meeting with initial resistance, became accepted by the Corps and
then by other federal agencies. Ultimately they became standards for
the country as a whole, and then for the rest of the world. Today it is
not unusual for an engineer in some far part of the world to assert
that his dam has been designed to accommodate the "Hathaway
flood. "
Following the spread and acceptance of his doctrines, Gail Hatha-
way became active in the work of several national and international
technical societies. In particular, he was an ardent supporter of the
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) at both local and
national levels, serving as President of the National Capital Section
in 1942 and as National President from 1946 to 1948. He was
presented with ASCE's lames I. R. Croes Gold Medal in 1947.
His postretirement activities kept him busy and productive over
an extended period, during which he served as a consultant in con-
OCR for page 109
GAIL ABNER HATHAWAY
109
nection with the planning, design, and construction of Egypt's
Aswan Dam and for the relocation of the Abu Simbel Temple, which
would have been lost to the impounded waters. Other assignments
included services as an engineering consultant to President Tru-
man's Cabinet Committee on Palestine, as a consultant for the
solution of Panama Canal problems, and as a consultant to the
Venezuelan Government. He was Chairman of the U.S. Committee
on Large Dams from 1948 to 1952 and then served as President of
the International Commission on Large Dams until 1958. Other
important assignments included a term as Chairman of the Ameri-
can Committee of the World Power Conference and as Vice-Presi-
dent of its International Executive Committee.
He wrote many technical papers during his long service with the
Corps of Engineers, a number contained in special reports and
sections of handbooks relating to flood control and water resource
development. In recognition of his great contributions and achieve-
ments over the years, he was elected to the Corps' Gallery of Distin-
guished Employees. Other writings include:
· "Determination of Spillway Requirements for High Dams,"
Proceedings of the Fourth Congress on Large Dams, 1951 .
· "Design of Drainage Facilities for Air Fields," Transactions
ASCE, 1945.
· "Application of Hydrology to Flood Control, " Proceedings,
Penn StateCollege,HydrologyConference, 1941.
- "The Importance of Meteorological Studies in Design of Flood
Control Structures," American Meteorological Society, 1939.
For his many contributions to the development of the Nation's
natural resources he was honored with a Doctor of Engineering
degree by Drexel Institute of Technology in 1951. He was a member
of Sigma Tau and Tau Beta Pi honor societies, and a member of the
Cosmos Club of Washington, D.C. (he resided in Washington,
D.C., during his last years). Mr. Hathaway was elected a member of
the National Academy of Engineering in 1979.
Wherever there stands a large dam built within the last twenty
years, one may be sure that the downstream areas rest more safely
and more securely because of the genius of Gail Abner Hathaway.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
gail abner
