Jonathan Knight (November 22, 1787 – November 22, 1858) was an American politician who served as an

Opposition Party In politics, the opposition comprises one or more political parties or other organized groups that are opposed to the government (or, in American English, the administration), party or group in political control of a city, region, state, coun ...

member of the

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for Pennsylvania's 20th congressional district from 1855 to 1857. He also served as a member of the

Pennsylvania Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mi ...

for the 20th district from 1822 to 1828. He was a

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...

who worked on the

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and as the first chief engineer of B&O Railroad.

Early life

Jonathan Knight was born in

Bucks County, Pennsylvania Bucks County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 646,538, making it the List of counties in Pennsylvania, four ...

, the tenth child of Abel and Anna S. Knight. In 1801, he moved with his parents to East Bethlehem Township, Pennsylvania. He attended the common schools, worked as a teacher and purchased a farm. He continued to do survey work and became a civil engineer. He was appointed by the state in 1816 to make and report on a map of

Washington County, Pennsylvania Washington County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 209,349. Its county seat is Washington, Pe ...

. He was elected county commissioner and served three years.

Railroad career

Knight assisted in the preliminary surveys of the

Chesapeake and Ohio Canal The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, abbreviated as the C&O Canal and occasionally called the Grand Old Ditch, operated from 1831 until 1924 along the Potomac River between Washington, D.C., and Cumberland, Maryland. It replaced the Patowmack Canal ...

and the

between

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, and Wheeling, Virginia (now

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). In 1828 he entered the service of the

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the oldest railroads in North America, oldest railroad in the United States and the first steam engine, steam-operated common carrier. Construction of the line began in 1828, and it operated as B&O from 1830 ...

(B&O) to help create an engineering staff for the new company. Later that year the B&O sent him to

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to study railroad engineering. Upon his return in 1830, he was appointed Chief Engineer of the B&O and served until 1842. He worked with Dr. William Howard, Lt. Col Stephen H. Long and led the design work of the B&O Main Line from

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Harpers Ferry, West Virginia Harpers Ferry is a historic town in Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 269 at the 2020 United States census. Situated at the confluence of the Potomac River, Potomac and Shenandoah River, Shenandoah Rivers in the ...

, the oldest

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rail line in the United States. He also led the engineering work on the B&O Washington Branch between Baltimore and

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Knight also engaged in agricultural pursuits and was secretary of the first agricultural society organized in Washington County.

Political career

Knight served as a member of the Pennsylvania Senate for the 20th district from 1822 to 1828. Knight was elected as an

candidate to the Thirty-fourth Congress. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in

1856 Events January–March * January 8 – Borax deposits are discovered in large quantities by John Veatch in California. * January 23 – The American sidewheel steamer SS ''Pacific'' leaves Liverpool (England) for a transatl ...

, and for election in

1858 Events January–March * January 9 ** Revolt of Rajab Ali: British forces finally defeat Rajab Ali Khan of Chittagong. ** Anson Jones, the last president of the Republic of Texas, commits suicide. * January 14 – Orsini affair: Pi ...

. He resumed agricultural pursuits near East Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and died there in 1858

Legacy

Knightstown, Indiana, was named in his honor.

Bibliography

*Knight, Jonathan. ''Report Upon the Locomotive Engines: And the Police and Management of Several of the Principal Rail Roads in the Northern and Middle States'', Being a Sequel to the Report... Upon Railway Structures. Lucas & Deaver., 1838. *Chase, Patrick F. ''Jonathan Knight: Pathfinder of American Roads''. Fillingim Brothers Publishing, 2024.

Footnotes

Sources

* * ''The Political Graveyard'' (Lawrence Kestenbaum, Ann Arbor, MI
"Jonathan Knight"
Accessed 2013-03-17. , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, Jonathan (railroader) 1787 births 1858 deaths 19th-century American railroad executives American railroad pioneers Baltimore and Ohio Railroad people Engineers from Pennsylvania Opposition Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania Pennsylvania state senators Politicians from Bucks County, Pennsylvania American railway civil engineers Washington County Commissioners (Pennsylvania) 19th-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives