Richard Cleghorn Overton (November 9, 1907 – September 30, 1988) was an American railroad historian, a founding member and first secretary of the Lexington Group in Transportation History, and a founding member and the first president of the

Business History Conference The Business History Conference (BHC) is an academic organization that supports all aspects of research, writing, and teaching about business history and about the environment in which businesses operate. Founded in 1954, the BHC supports ongoing ...

Early life and education

Overton earned his BA in History in 1929, and his MA in Economics in 1934 at

Williams College Williams College is a private liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a colonist from the Province of Massachusetts Bay who was kille ...

. He completed his MA and PhD in History at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

in 1944.

Career

Overton taught French at the

Hotchkiss School The Hotchkiss School is a coeducational preparatory school in Lakeville, Connecticut, United States. Hotchkiss is a member of the Eight Schools Association and Ten Schools Admissions Organization. It is also a former member of the G30 Schools gr ...

, economics at

, and history at

North Adams State College The Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) formerly known as North Adams State College (NASC) is a public liberal arts college in North Adams, Massachusetts. It is part of the state university system of Massachusetts. It is a member of t ...

, Amherst College,

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Chart ...

, the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thames Ri ...

, and at

Burr and Burton Academy Burr and Burton Academy (BBA) is a private, non-profit, co-educational, day and boarding school in Manchester, Vermont, United States. It was established in 1829 through a bequest from local businessman Joseph Burr. In addition to serving local ...

. He worked as a research consultant and assistant to the President of the

Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington Route, the Burlington, or as the Q, it operated extensive trackage in the states of Colorado, Illin ...

, and was also a research consultant for the

Association of American Railroads The Association of American Railroads (AAR) is an industry trade group representing primarily the major freight Rail transport, railroads of North America (Canada, Mexico and the United States). Amtrak and some regional Commuter rail in North Am ...

as well as several regional railroad companies. He served as a Director of the Central Vermont Railway.

Railway history

Overton wrote several books on railroad history, and more than 100 articles and book reviews on the subject. Joe W. Kizzia in "Richard C. Overton Railroad Historian. - book reviews", summed up Overton's view on railroad history: "...railroads had so much to do with making the United States into 'us'."Kizzia, Joe W. "Richard C. Overton Railroad Historian. - book reviews". (Railway Age;Apr98, Vol. 199 Issue 4, p89) Overton wrote in an article that appeared in ''Railway Age'' in February 1948: ::"It is superfluous to recall that railways have been an essential prerequisite to the development of American industry, commerce, and agriculture. They opened the great West, built cities, enabled us to fight our wars effectively, and have been one of the greatest forces toward nationalism in our history." Overton received the Railroad History Senior Achievement award For a Lifetime of Significant Contribution to the Writing, Preservation, and Interpretation of North America's Railroading History from the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society on May 8, 1982.

Selected works

* ''Perkins/Budd: Railway Statesmen of the Burlington'' (Contributions in Economics and Economic History) (Greenwood, 1982) * ''Burlington Route: A History of the Burlington Lines ''(Knopf, 1965) * ''Gulf to Rockies: The Heritage of the Fort Worth and Denver-Colorado and Southern Railways, 1861-1898 ''(University of Texas Press, 1953) * ''Burlington West: A colonization history of the Burlington Railroad ''(Harvard University Press, 1941) *''Over My Shoulder: A Memoir,'' privately printed

References

* Hausman, William J. ''Business and Economic History'', College of William and Mary, Second Series Volume 16, 1989

External links