Alf Hjort (12 October 1877 – 12 December 1944) was a Norwegian-born American

electrical engineer Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

. He played a leading part in the planning and construction of the underground and underwater railroad and car tunnels of

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 ...

, as well as the extensions of the city's metropolitan subway system.

Background

Alf Hjort was born in Christiania (now Oslo), Norway. He was a younger brother of Norwegian

oceanographer Oceanography (), also known as oceanology, sea science, ocean science, and marine science, is the scientific study of the ocean, including its physics, chemistry, biology, and geology. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of top ...

and marine zoologist

Johan Hjort Johan Hjort (18 February 1869 – 7 October 1948) was a Norwegian fisheries scientist, marine zoologist, and oceanographer. He was among the most prominent and influential marine zoologists of his time. The early years Johan Hjort was the ...

. Their parents were Johan S.A. Hjort (1835–1905), a professor of

ophthalmology Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...

, and Elisabeth Falsen (1849–1922) of the Falsen family. After graduating from Oslo Gymnasium, he went to

Hannover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

, Germany, to study mechanical and electrical engineering. After work periods in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, Hjort came to the United States in 1904.

Career

From 1904 to 1909 he served as chief engineer of Pearson & Sons, one of the largest and best known contracting and construction firms at the time. Hjort's task was to oversee the planning and construction of the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy," was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At its ...

s Tunnels under the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

, and the

Long Island Rail Road The Long Island Rail Road , or LIRR, is a Rail transport, railroad in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County on Long Islan ...

Tunnels under the

East River The East River is a saltwater Estuary, tidal estuary or strait in New York City. The waterway, which is not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island, ...

. This was one of the greatest engineering and construction enterprises ever undertaken anywhere in the world up to that time. After the completion of these projects, Hjort was engaged with the Degnon Contracting Company of New York City, in the task of building part of the Catskill Water Supply Project, which was used to supply

with water. In 1911, Hjort went to Flinn-O'Rourke Construction Company and served as this firm's chief engineer from 1929 until his death in New York during 1944. Under his watch a string of

New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system in New York City serving the New York City boroughs, boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. It is owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Tr ...

tunnel projects were planned and completed, most notably the

Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel The Hugh L. Carey Tunnel, commonly referred to as the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel, Battery Tunnel or Battery Park Tunnel, is a toll road, tolled tunnel in New York City that connects Red Hook, Brooklyn, Red Hook in Brooklyn with The Battery (Ma ...

between the southern tip of

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

and

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. In 1911, Hjort was among the founders of

The American-Scandinavian Foundation The American-Scandinavian Foundation (ASF) is an American non-profit foundation dedicated to promoting international understanding through educational and cultural exchange between the United States and Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Swe ...

in New York City. He also maintained close links to his native Norway during his 40 years in the United States.

References

Primary sources

*Bjork, Kenneth ''Saga In Steel And Concrete - Norwegian Engineers In America'' (Northfield, Minnesota: Norwegian-American Historical Association. 1947) *Pfeiffer, Henry ''Prominent Men of New York: Individual Biographic Studies with Character Portraits. Volume 1'' (New York City: Historical Records, Inc. 1940)

External links

American Scandinavian Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hjort, Alf Norwegian electrical engineers 1877 births 1944 deaths Norwegian emigrants to the United States Engineers from Oslo