Gano Sillick Dunn (October 18, 1870 – April 10, 1953) was President of Cooper Union, and an early Chairman and CEO of the
United States National Research Council
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (also known as NASEM or the National Academies) are the collective scientific national academy of the United States. The name is used interchangeably in two senses: (1) as an umbrel ...
.
Early life and education
Son of Civil War veteran General N. Gano Dunn and Amelia Sillick, Gano Dunn was born in Yorkville, New York. With a prospering law practice, General Dunn raised Gano and his younger brother Harris, across from
Central Park
Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...
, as befitted one of the "best-known lawyers in the city". Inspired by his paternal grandfather, schoolteacher and inventor Nathaniel Dunn, young Gano was encouraged in both scholarship and practical invention.
In 1883, when Gano was twelve, he accompanied the former Mrs. Maria G. Robins Caswell to Europe. They were there met by General Dunn. With the General and Maria masquerading as man and wife, Gano traveled Europe for a year and half. By 1886, General Dunn's whereabouts were unknown to his wife Amelia and New York Society.
At the age of fifteen, while attending City College of New York, Gano began to work for as an operator for the
Western Union Telegraph Company
The Western Union Company is an American multinational financial services company, headquartered in Denver, Colorado.
Founded in 1851 as the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company in Rochester, New York, the company chang ...
. During this period, in March 1887, Mrs. Maria Robins filed a lawsuit against Gano's mother, Mrs. Amelia S. Dunn, over a deed to a New York City property. In 1884, under pressure from her "runaway husband", Mrs. Dunn had been forced to transfer the property, then valued at $18,000, to General Dunn's office clerk, Henry G. Hunt for a single dollar. Hunt then transferred the deed to Mrs. Robins. Attempting to maintain her interests, Mrs. Dunn gave a second deed to her sister-in-law, who then transferred this second deed to Mrs. Dunn's sister. With affidavits filed by her estranged husband from Canada, and testimony from Mrs. Robins, the case stretched until November 1887. Mrs. Amelia Dunn finally won the lawsuit and the Hunt/Robins deed to the property was invalidated.
As a young college student, Dunn visited the laboratory of
Thomas A. Edison
Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 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 inventio ...
. Dunn declined Edison's job offer and continued pursuing his college degree.
In 1889, the nineteen-year-old earned a
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...
degree while graduating
Phi Beta Kappa
The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...
. Continuing his education at
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
.
His father's whereabouts remained unknown, until in August 1892, reporters appeared at the Dunn home with dispatches from
Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
. Without money and thought to be insane, the former lawyer had shot himself and died. Gano quickly telegraphed Denver authorities to hold the body. With the intention to bring the body back home, Gano expressed to reporters the "sorrow that the scandal has dragged the family name through mire should now be revived by suicide".
Gano Dunn put his father's scandals behind him.
Vannevar Bush
Vannevar Bush ( ; March 11, 1890 – June 28, 1974) was an American engineer, inventor and science administrator, who during World War II headed the U.S. Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD), through which almost all warti ...
's biography of Gano simply states:
"Dunn's father died before Gano had finished his education;".
Returning to
CCNY
The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, City ...
, Dunn was one of two 1897
Master of Science
A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast t ...
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 Insti ...
from 1911 to 1912. Gano Dunn served as treasurer and later Chairman of Trustees of the Simplified Spelling Board.
Refugee ship ''Principe di Undine''
Gano Dunn, the President of J. G. White Engineering since 1913, was in Italy at the outbreak of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Americans stranded in Europe had fled from Austria, France, Spain, Switzerland and Serbia to Italy, trying to book passage back to the United States. With banks refusing to cash personal checks, Americans were short on funds. In Italy, a bank moratorium had been declared, with banks paying only "limited and small amounts daily".
A Committee of Guarantors with Dunn, as treasurer, pledged 500,000 francs, gold to secure the charter of the ship ''Principe di Undine'' from
Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...
to New York City. Using their personal fortunes, aided by American Express's Genoa office and
National City Bank of New York
Citibank, N. A. (N. A. stands for " National Association") is the primary U.S. banking subsidiary of financial services multinational Citigroup. Citibank was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, and later became First National City ...
, made the initial 10% payment five minutes before the charter option expired. Within two days, 400 anxious Americans booked passage, with Gano Dunn collecting cash or confirming evidence of credit. Only 60,000 francs were available in cash, the rest being credit, with payment guaranteed by the Committee.Dr. Butler, before sailing, had obtained permission from
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...
, First Lord of the Admiralty to pass
Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
. Challenged there by an English torpedo boat destroyer, the ''Principe di Undine'' was allowed to proceed into the Atlantic. 700 miles from New York, the ship was commanded to stop by an English warship. After verifying her cargo and passengers, the ship was allowed to proceed.
During the voyage, a series of lectures on various topics were organized, with Mr Gano Dunn speaking on
wireless telegraphy
Wireless telegraphy or radiotelegraphy is transmission of text messages by radio waves, analogous to electrical telegraphy using cables. Before about 1910, the term ''wireless telegraphy'' was also used for other experimental technologies for ...
. Each morning, Dunn posted the bulletins from the wireless on the progress of the war.
Concerned about their compatriots still stranded in Europe, the passengers voted to appoint a committee to inform public opinion and the United States Government of the conditions abroad. Arriving in New York on August 23, 1914,
Gano Dunn and the rest of the committee met with an assistant to the Secretary of State on Tuesday, August 25 and officially expressed to him their satisfaction with the steps the Government had taken at that time.
Marriage
Among his fellow refugees aboard ship were Mrs. Julia Gardiner Gayley and her daughter Miss Florence Gayley of New York City.
In 1920, upon the death of her first husband, James Gayley, Julia Thurston Gardiner Gayley married Gano Dunn. The couple moved to her home at 20
Washington Square North
Waverly Place is a narrow street in the Greenwich Village section of the New York City borough of Manhattan, that runs from Bank Street to Broadway. Waverly changes direction roughly at its midpoint at Christopher Street, turning about 120 de ...
.
Inventions
Gano Dunn invented and patented many electronic and mechanical devices.
* A Drum Sequencer Controller
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Legacy
In 1955, James A. Healy and Harris A. Dunn, in memory of Harris' late brother Gano, presented Colby College Library with a rare copy of the 1491 Nuremberg Chronicle.