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Alex Dow (April 12, 1862 – March 22, 1942) was an American mechanical and electrical engineer for the city of Detroit. He served as president of the
American Society of Mechanical Engineers The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via "continuing edu ...
in the year 1928-1929.


Biography

Dow was born in
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
, Scotland as son of William Dow, a blacksmith, and Jean (Keppy) Dow in 1862. He emigrated to the US in 1882 at the age of twenty. In 1893 Dow was appointed the first plant manager of the first municipally-owned power plant in Detroit, and electrical engineer for the city of Detroit. The power plant had been built as a result of Hazen Pingree's efforts to break the power of corporations over
Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
City politics. It was during this time that
Henry Ford Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American Technological and industrial history of the United States, industrialist and business magnate. As the founder of the Ford Motor Company, he is credited as a pioneer in making automob ...
worked under Dow at one of the Detroit Edison substations. Dow took Ford with him to the 1896 annual convention of the Association of Edison Illuminating Companies being held that year in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. It was at this convention that Dow introduced Ford to
Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February11, 1847October18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventions, ...
, the meeting with, and encouragement from, the great scientist becoming a great inspiration to Ford in completing his first car. Dow was appointed water commissioner for the city of Detroit in 1916-1921 and again in 1925-1932. In 1932, he was made the president of Detroit Edison and served until 1940. He was elected
president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
of the
American Society of Mechanical Engineers The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via "continuing edu ...
for the 1928-1929 year. He was a member of the
American Society of Mechanical Engineers The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via "continuing edu ...
,
American Society of Civil Engineers The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) is a tax-exempt professional body founded in 1852 to represent members of the civil engineering profession worldwide. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, it is the oldest national engineering soci ...
,
American Institute of Electrical Engineers The American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) was a United States–based organization of electrical engineers that existed from 1884 through 1962. On January 1, 1963, it merged with the Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE) to form the Inst ...
, Institute of Electrical Engineers (Great Britain), Institute of Mechanical Engineers (Great Britain). Dow also served as the President of The Engineering Society of Detroit from 1900-1901.


References


Further reading

* * ''Who's Who on the Web'', s.v. "Alex Dow" (n.p.:
Marquis Who's Who Marquis Who's Who, also known as A.N. Marquis Company ( or ), is an American publisher of a number of directories containing short biographies. The books usually are entitled ''Who's Who in...'' followed by some subject, such as ''Who's Who in A ...
, 2005) *


External links


Alex Dow
at ''Engineering and Technology History Wiki'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Dow, Alex 1862 births 1942 deaths American engineers Scottish emigrants to the United States Engineers from Glasgow Presidents of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers IEEE Edison Medal recipients