William Harrison

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William H. Harrison: Biography

Born: June 11, 1892

Died: April 21, 1956

Harrison was AIEE president from 1937 to 1938.

William Henry Harrison, assistant vice-president, department of operation and engineering, American Telephone and Telegraph Company, New York, N. Y., has been nominated for the presidency of the AIEE for the 1937-38 term. Mr. Harrison was born June 11, 1892, at Brooklyn. N., Y., and was graduated in industrial electrical engineering at Pratt Institute in 1915. He entered the employ of the New York Telephone Company in 1909, where his work until 1915 included apparatus inspection, assembling, and wiring. From 1915 to 1919 he was engaged in telephone circuit design in the engineering department of the Western Electric Company, and in 1919 he became a member of the engineering staff of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company. In 1924 Mr. Harrison was made equipment and building engineer with general supervision of the engineering of the subscribers station and central office plant of the Bell Telephone System, and in 1929 he became plant engineer, with broadened responsibilities including general direction of the engineering, design and layout of all departments of the Bell System plant, including system relations with other wire-using utilities. In 1933 Mr. Harrison was elected Vice president in charge of operations of The Bell Telephone, Company of Pennsylvania and The Diamond State Telephone Company of Delaware, with headquarters in Philadelphia, Pa, He was appointed assistant vice-president in the department of operation and engineering in 1937. Mr. Harrison has a long record of active service in the Institute; he is at present vice-president representing the AIEE Middle Eastern District (number 2) and a member of the executive committee (1936-37) and committees on legislation affecting the engineering profession, 1932-37; Edison Medal, 1935-37; and Lamme Medal, 1935-38. In addition, he is a member of the special committee to consider Associate: dues and related matters and the committee on revision of Section territories, and has been, a member of the following technical committees: communication, 1935-36; technical program, 1929-36 (chairman 1931-33); co-ordination of Institute activities, 1931-33; publication, 1931-33; award of Institute prizes, 1931-34 (chairman 1931-33); and populat science award, 1931-34. Mr. Harrison was also a member of the AIEE national nominating committee in 1934, and was an AIEE representative on the Alfred Nobel Prize committee of the American Society of Civil Engineers (1932-34) and on the American committee on marking of obstructions to air navigation during 1932-33.

(Copied from Electrical Engineering, March 1937)