Martin Withington Clement (December 5, 1881 – August 30, 1966) was the 11th president 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 ...

(PRR), from 1935 to 1948.

Background

Clement was born and raised in

Sunbury, Pennsylvania Sunbury ( ) is a city and the county seat of Northumberland County in Pennsylvania, United States. Located in the Susquehanna Valley, Sunbury is positioned on the east bank of the Susquehanna River. Sunbury's roots stretch back to the early ...

. He was the son of Major General Charles M. Clement. He attended

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

, graduating in the Class of 1901 with a degree in civil engineering. While there, he was a member of the Fraternity of Delta Psi. Martin W. Clement was a veteran of the

Pennsylvania National Guard The Pennsylvania National Guard is one of the oldest and largest National Guards in the United States Department of Defense. It traces its roots to 1747 when Benjamin Franklin established the Associators in Philadelphia. With more than 18,000 per ...

’s 12th Regiment.

Career

Clement joined the

as a rodman for the principal assistant engineer of a

subsidiary. Rising through the railroad's engineering ranks, he assisted in surveying the floor of 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 ...

during construction of

Pennsylvania Station Pennsylvania Station or Penn Station may refer to: Current train stations * Baltimore Penn Station * New York Penn Station ** Pennsylvania Station (1910–1963), the predecessor to the present New York City station * Newark Penn Station Trai ...

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 ...

in the 1900s. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he was superintendent of transportation to the U.S. Railroad Administration. After

, Clement was tapped to become head of the Pennsylvania Railroad's Lake Division in

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

, and steadily rose through the corporate ranks to executive vice-presidency. Clement was formally nominated to the Pennsylvania Railroad's presidency in April 1935. His retiring predecessor was

William Wallace Atterbury William Wallace Atterbury (January 31, 1866 – September 20, 1935) Cited at New Albany Floyd County Public Library. Gale (publisher), Gale Biography In Context. was a brigadier general in the United States Army during World War I, who began his ...

, in whose capacity Clement had acted since July 1934. Under Clement, operating revenues grew from $368 million in 1935 to a peak of over $1 billion in 1944. One of his great accomplishments was the continuation of

electrification Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. In the context of history of technology and economic development, electrification refe ...

of the PRR mainlines, begun under General Atterbury, from

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Washington, DC 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, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

, and

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg ( ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,099 as of 2020, Harrisburg is the ninth-most populous city in Pennsylvania. It is the larger of the two pr ...

. He also oversaw the introduction of more streamlined

locomotives A locomotive is a rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for longer and heavier freight train ...

, new and old

passenger cars A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...

that were air-conditioned, and the beginning of

dieselization Dieselisation (US: dieselization) is the process of equipping vehicles with a diesel engine or diesel engines. It can involve replacing an internal combustion engine powered by petrol (US: gasoline) fuel with an engine powered by diesel fuel, ...

. By the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, PRR controlled more than 20 percent of American passenger traffic and 11 percent of freight traffic. On March 16, 1936, he was on the cover of ''Time'' magazine. During World War II he was an advisor to the War Department about railroads. Succeeded by Walter S. Franklin in the railroad's presidency, Clement continued to serve as Chairman of the Board until 1951, and as a Pennsylvania Railroad director until 1957.

Personal

Clement retired to his home in

Rosemont, Pennsylvania Rosemont is a neighborhood and census-designated place in Pennsylvania, United States. Partly in Lower Merion Township in Montgomery County and partly in Radnor Township in Delaware County, it is on the Philadelphia Main Line. It is best kno ...

, where he died on August 30, 1966. Two days later, all Pennsylvania Railroad trains systemwide came to a stop for one minute at 3:00 PM

Eastern Time The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, and the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico. * Eastern Standard Time (EST) is five hours behi ...

in his honor. Clement was buried at Church of the Redeemer Cemetery in Bryn Mawr. Annually, the Trinity Chapter of St. Anthony Hall (the Fraternity of Delta Psi), host the Martin Withington Clement Lecture in his honor.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clement, Martin W. 1881 births 1966 deaths People from Sunbury, Pennsylvania Trinity College (Connecticut) alumni St. Anthony Hall 20th-century American railroad executives Businesspeople from Philadelphia Pennsylvania Railroad people

Background

Career

Personal

See also

References

External links