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John L. Savage

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John L. Savage
John L. Savage
Born(1879-12-25)December 25, 1879
Cooksville, Wisconsin
DiedDecember 28, 1967(1967-12-28)(aged 88)
Englewood, Colorado
OccupationCivil engineer
Spouse(s)Jessie Burdick Sexsmith, Olga Lacher Miner
AwardsJohn Fritz Medal(1945)
Washington Award(1949)

John Lucian Savage(December 25, 1879 – December 28, 1967) was an Americancivil engineer.Among the 60 major dams he supervised the designs for, he is best known for theHoover Dam,Shasta Dam,Parker DamandGrand Coulee Damin the United States along with surveying for the futureThree Gorges Damin China.[1]He was a member of theNational Academy of Sciencesand the recipient of numerous awards including theJohn Fritz Medal.[2]

Biography

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Early life

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John L. Savage was born on December 25, 1879, inCooksville, Wisconsin,to Edwin Parker and Mary Therese Savage. Raised on a farm, Savage was involved in numerous chores and labor while attending grade school. Savage later attended the Hillside Home School after he earned tuition and board for two years. After Savage graduated from Madison High School, he attended theUniversity of Wisconsin.During the summer of his freshmen year helped work on the Geological Survey of Wisconsin. During the summers of his sophomore and junior years, he conducted surveying with theUnited States Geological Survey.Savage graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1903 with a B.S. inCivil Engineering.[2]

Professional life

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U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Idaho Division

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In 1903, Savage took an engineering aid job with theUnited States Bureau of Reclamation,IdahoDivision. Before leaving that position in 1908, Savage worked on his first dam, theMinidoka Project.In Idaho, Savage also worked on the Payette-Boise Canal System, theBoise River Diversion Damand the Upper and Lower Deer Flat Dams.[2]

A. J. Wiley Engineering Association

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In 1908, after leaving the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Idaho Division, Savage began an eight-year association with A. J. Wiley, an engineer inBoise,Idaho.Their engineering practice boomed because of increased water use by the private sector for agriculture. Savage spent the majority of his time in the association inspecting and consulting on projects. During his time with Wiley, Savage worked on theSalmon RiverDam, theSwan Falls Power Planton theSnake River,theBarber Damon theBoise River,the Twin Falls North Side Canal System, and theAmerican Falls Power Plant.Savage also designed the gates for theArrowrock Damon theBoise River.[2]

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Chief Engineer Office

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Savage and other engineers observing the Black Canyon; future Hoover Dam site.

After working with A.J. Wiley and buying a cattle ranch in Idaho, Savage returned to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in the office of the Chief Engineer. There he became the first designing engineer of the Bureau and later, between 1924 and 1945, served as the chief designing engineer in charge of all civil, electrical, and mechanical design. While in this position, Savage's supervisor, the Chief Engineer, allowed him to work in an independent capacity because of his abilities. With this, Savage was responsible for the designing of large projects, such as theHoover Dam,theParker Dam,theShasta Dam,theAll American CanalSystem and theGrand Coulee Dam.[2][3]

Official overseas consulting

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Savage and Chinese Delegation, on Yangtze River, 1944
Savage's Proposal for the Yangtze River Gorge Dam, 1945

While with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Savage became a renowned expert on dams and civil engineering; he consulted in 19 countries on hundreds of projects. In 1938, theGovernment of New South Walesasked Savage to consult on theBurrinjuck Damin Australia after fears that the dam wall was unstable.[4][5][6]Initially, Savage was not allowed to go because of a U.S. law forbidding federal employees from accepting money from foreign powers. Savage refused any payments and offered his services anyway, writing his superiors: "Any assistance will be gratis and I shall not accept any reimbursement for expenses. An overdue vacation will be sufficient gratuity."[2]

After servingMexico,in 1941, theUnited States Congressunanimously passed legislation allowing Savage to officially consult in India, Australia, and other countries. In Australia, Savage was consulted during the construction of theUpper Yarra[7]andWarragamba[8]Dams. Savage consulted on several dams in Afghanistan for the purpose of irrigation.[2]In Switzerland, he consulted on the design and construction of theGrande Dixence Dam.He also consulted on numerous projects in India,Palestineand Spain.[9]

In 1944, theChairman of the Nationalist Government of China,Chiang Kai-shekinvited Savage to China, where he surveyed and designed his "dream dam". At the time, the project was known as the Yangtze Gorge Project and would help irrigate 10 million acres (40,000 km2) of land and control theYangtze River,which was prone to deadly floods.[2][10]When Savage returned, he published his report titled "Yangtze Gorge and Tributary Project" in which he stated in the preface: "The Yangtze Gorge Project is a 'CLASSIC'." He also stated that it would bring employment and a higher standard of living in China. On June 3, 1946, the first of the dams he suggested, the Upper Tsing Yuan Tung, began but was halted on August 15, 1947, because of theChinese Civil War.[11]His dream, would be a reality almost 60 years later; standing as theThree Gorges Dam,one of the largest dams and supplying the largest power plant in the world.[2]

Retirement

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John L. Savage retired from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in 1945 but continued to consult in countries such asAfghanistan,South Africa,India,Singapore,Formosa,Japan,Mexico,Canada and Australia.[2]

Legacy

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John L. Savage was known as an exemplary and diligent worker among his peers, often seeing engineering problems before they arose. Savage's peers often referred to him as the first "billion dollar" American engineer because of the costs of the projects he designed and supervised. He was also known by some as "Jack Dam" Savage. Savage never saw money as an object of his work and once said that he took pleasure in joining "enterprises that have as their objective the development of human relations."[2]

During Savage's 1945 John Fritz Medal award ceremony, the following was said: "Among Savage's major satisfactions is that of having seen the West grow and thrive as a result of the Bureau of Reclamation program for power and irrigation. Nearly 5,000,000 people—one out of every five living in the seventeen Western states—are dependent in one way or another on the facilities designed under his supervision."[2]

Personal life

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John L. Savage was married twice and never fathered any children. Savage first married Jessie Burdick Sexsmith on June 1, 1918, but she died on July 17, 1940. Savage's second marriage was to Olga Lacher Miner on January 14, 1950. Although childless, Savage helped fund several of his nieces and nephews through college. In addition, he brought home an orphaned child from his trip to China.[2]

John L. Savage died on December 28, 1967, inEnglewood, Colorado.[2]

Contributions to civil engineering

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When designing the Hoover Dam, Savage introduced artificially cooled massconcrete,which dramatically reduced the setting time of concrete, allowing for faster construction. He also introduced the trial load method of arch analysis, which removed theorized and actual stresses in a finished structure. While designing theGrand Coulee Dam,Savage and his assistants solved an engineering problem of "twists" by leaving 6-foot (1.8 m) gaps in a dam structure called "twist adjustment slots" in order to provide "give" ashydrostatic pressureamounted on a concretedam,preventing cracking.[2]

Savage and his associates developed methods and equipment that determined the stress onpenstocks— pipes responsible for directly transferring water togeneratorsinhydroelectricitypower plants.They also studied the behavior of concrete and rolled-earth dams as well as the seismic and land subsidence effects caused by the weight of large reservoirs.[2]

Awards

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Education

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Honorary degrees

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Professional

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  • Colorado Engineering Council's Gold Medal Award, 1937
  • Gold Medal Award of the National Resources Commission of China, 1944
  • John Fritz Medal,1945
  • Henry C. Turner Gold Medal Award, 1946
  • National Academy of SciencesElection, 1949
  • Washington Award,1949
  • U.S. Department of Interior Gold Medal Award, 1950
  • Reclamation Hall of Fame, May 1950
  • Popular Mechanics Hall of Fame, 1952
  • "Order of Ching Hsin" (China), 1952[2]

References

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  1. ^"Inventory of the John Lucian Savage papers, 1903-1961".University of Wyoming. American Heritage Center. Archived fromthe originalon June 7, 2018.RetrievedMay 7,2012.
  2. ^abcdefghijklmnopqrWolman, Abel; W. H. Lyles."John Lucian Savage Biography"(PDF).National Academy of Sciences.RetrievedDecember 22,2009.
  3. ^Simonds, Joe."THE BOULDER CANYON PROJECT Hoover Dam".U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.RetrievedSeptember 14,2010.
  4. ^"BURRINJUCK DAM".The Canberra Times.ACT: National Library of Australia. April 9, 1942. p. 3.RetrievedJuly 26,2011.
  5. ^""HERALD" SATURDAY MAGAZINE ".The Sydney Morning Herald.National Library of Australia. February 5, 1949. p. 7.RetrievedJuly 26,2011.
  6. ^"PROJECTS OF GOOD WILL:John L Savage, Missionary Of Dam Construction".Goulburn Evening Post.New South Wales, Australia. June 25, 1948. p. 7 (Daily and Evening).RetrievedMarch 4,2017– via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^"DAM EXPERT FROM U.S."The Mercury.Hobart, Tas.: National Library of Australia. December 5, 1941. p. 2.RetrievedJuly 26,2011.
  8. ^Aird, W.V (1961).The Water Supply, Sewerage and Drainage of Sydney.Sydney: M.W.S.&D.B. p. 109.
  9. ^"John Lucian Savage, an ASCE Engineer, 1969".Archived fromthe originalon July 7, 2012.RetrievedDecember 23,2009.
  10. ^"Chronology of Three Gorges Project".Embassy of The People's Republic of China in The United States.RetrievedMay 7,2012.
  11. ^"October The National Archives in the regions…a monthly calendar of events open to the public"(PDF).U.S. National Archives. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on October 20, 2011.RetrievedSeptember 14,2010.
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