Frederic Wait Lord (July 3, 1871 – December 31, 1951) was an American energy executive and author.

Early life

Lord was born on July 3, 1871, in

Brooklyn, New York 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 ...

. He was a son of Joseph Lord (1832–1880) and Mary Ann ( Archer) Lord (1840–1925). Among his siblings were Dr. Sidney Archer Lord, Ernest Archer Lord, and Genevieve ( Lord) Frothingham (wife of Edgar Vietor Frothingham). Lord was educated at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

, serving as captain of its track team in 1893.

Career

Although entered in the 110 high metres hurdles, he did not compete at the 1896 Athens Olympics. Lord established the Lord Electric Company in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

in 1895. The company was "known throughout the United States for its important electrical work in great projects such as La Guardia Field and Idlewild." He served as president of Lord Electric, as well as Lord Manufacturing Co. and Lord Construction Co., until his retirement in 1948. The company later expanded to

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

, where it operated since 1959 as a subsidiary of Lord Electric Company. An honorary member of the New York Electrical Contractors Association, he was the author of three books, ''Ethics of Contracting and Stabilizing of Profits'', the ''Selective Method of Letting Contracts'', and ''Contracting as a Profession''.

Personal life

On July 29, 1906, Lord was married to Alice ( Kirkham) Garrison (1875–1959) at

Hastings-on-Hudson, New York Hastings-on-Hudson is a administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in Westchester County located in the southwestern part of the administrative divisions of New York#Town, town of Greenburgh, New York, Greenburgh in the state of New Yo ...

. The widow of Lloyd McKim Garrison (eldest son of

Wendell Phillips Garrison Wendell Phillips Garrison (June 4, 1840 – February 27, 1907) was an American editor and author. Early life Garrison was born on June 4, 1840, at Cambridgeport, Massachusetts. He was the third son of the abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison ...

), she was a daughter of Augustus Kirkham and Clarinda Harrison ( Dunham) Kirkham. After their marriage, her brother, Edward Kirkham, began working for Lord. From her first marriage, she was the mother of Lloyd Kirkman Garrison (an attorney who represented physicist

J. Robert Oppenheimer J. Robert Oppenheimer (born Julius Robert Oppenheimer ; April 22, 1904 – February 18, 1967) was an American theoretical physics, theoretical physicist who served as the director of the Manhattan Project's Los Alamos Laboratory during World ...

in the 1950s) and Clarinda Kirkham ( Garrison) Binger (who married Dr. Carl Binger). Together, they lived at 238 East 68th Street, and were the parents of three daughters, including: * Anne Kirkham Lord (1908–2000), a twin who married

landscape architect A landscape architect is a person who is educated in the field of landscape architecture. The practice of landscape architecture includes: site analysis, site inventory, site planning, land planning, planting design, grading, storm water manage ...

Wolcott Erskine Andrews, son of Martin Andrews, in 1937. * Mary Archer "Polly" Lord (1908–1998), a twin who married Charles Merriman Du Puy Reed, son of William Ebenezer Reed. They later divorced. * Ellen Wait Lord (1909–1984), who married Robert Gordon Pierce, a banker with Dry Dock Savings Bank who was a son of Gordon Pierce, in 1937. Lord died on December 31, 1951, at New York Hospital in New York City. His widow died at her summer home at Black Point near

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the outlet of the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River in New London County, Connecticut, which empties into Long Island Sound. The cit ...

in July 1959.

References

External links

Lord Electric Company
at

MoMA The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lord, Frederic Wait 1871 births 1951 deaths Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni Construction and civil engineering company founders