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Leonor F. Loree

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Leonor F. Loree
Born
Leonor Fresnel Loree

(1858-04-23)April 23, 1858
Fulton City, Illinois, U.S.
DiedSeptember 6, 1940(1940-09-06) (aged 82)
Occupation(s)Financier, executive

Leonor F. Loree (April 23, 1858 – September 6, 1940) was an American civil engineer, lawyer, railroad executive, and founder of the American Newcomen Society.

He obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in 1877, a Master of Science in 1880, a Civil Engineering degree in 1896 and a Doctor of Law in 1917, all from Rutgers College. He also obtained a Doctor of Engineering degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1933. He was President of the Delaware & Hudson Railroad and had interests in Kansas City Southern, Baltimore and Ohio, New York Central, and the Rock Island Railroads. He was a Trustee at Rutgers University from 1909–1940 and was Chairman of the Rutgers Board of Trustees Committee on New Jersey College for Women (now Douglass College) until 1938. He was the donor of the New Jersey College for Women Athletic Field (Antilles Field). Rutgers has a building named after him, Leonor Fresnel Loree, erected in 1963 on the Douglass campus.[1]

Accomplishments

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In 1923, Loree was a principal founder of The Newcomen Society in North America, a learned society promoting engineering, technology and free enterprise.[2]

In 1903, Loree, together with Frank PJ Patenall, received U.S. patent 733,981, for the upper quadrant semaphore, which soon became the most widely used form of railroad lineside signal in North America. Railroads continued to install them until the 1940s.

"This is a helluva way to run a railroad!"

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In 1906 a committee of creditors asked Leonor to take charge of the Kansas City Southern Railroad. At the time it was considered no more than "two streaks of rust, its engines lost steam, the men were disheartened and the stations were shacks." After Mr. Loree gave his initial inspection, in a speech in front of the financial community, he ended his professional and technical description of the railroad line by stating, "This is a helluva way to run a railroad".[3]

Career

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Published works

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Loree Gymnasium". Rutgers University. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  2. ^ Sherwood, J. Robert (1968). The Story of Suburban Trust Company: The Bank with Vision. The Newcomen Society. p. 29.
  3. ^ "Hall of Distinguished Alumni". Rutgers University. Archived from the original on 28 October 2014. Retrieved 28 October 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. ^ Kansas City Southern Historical Society. "Saga of the Kansas City Southern Lines". Archived from the original on 2006-09-28. Retrieved 2006-09-06.
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Business positions
Preceded by President of Delaware and Hudson Railway
1907 – 1938
Succeeded by
Preceded by President of Kansas City Southern Railway
1918 – 1920
Succeeded by