Glen Edgar Edgerton

Glen Edgar Edgerton (April 17, 1887 – April 9, 1976) was a United States Army officer, who served as governor of the Panama Canal Zone from 1940 to 1944.[1]

Glen Edgerton
Edgerton circa 1940
8th governor of the Panama Canal Zone
In office
1940–1944
Preceded byClarence Self Ridley
Succeeded byJoseph Cowles Mehaffey
Personal details
BornApril 17, 1887
Parkerville, Kansas
DiedApril 9, 1976(1976-04-09) (aged 88)
Bethesda Naval Hospital
EducationKansas State College
United States Military Academy
Military service
Allegiance United States of America
Branch/service United States Army
Years of service1908–1949
Rank Major General
UnitCorps of Engineers

Biography

Edgerton was born on April 17, 1887, to Alice and John Edgar Edgerton. He graduated from Kansas State College in 1904 and from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1908, where he was first in his class.[2] While there he often tutored other students, including George S. Patton.[3] He plotted the route of the Panama Canal through the jungle and chased Pancho Villa in Mexico.[4] He was chief engineer of the Alaska Road Commission from 1910 to 1915 and the Edgerton Highway in Alaska is named after him. After World War I he directed war relief in China.[5] He also went to the military Engineering Academy.[1]

He served as Panama Canal maintenance engineer from 1936 to 1940. He was governor of the Panama Canal Zone from 1940 to 1944.[6] He retired from the army in 1949 and in that year became project manager for the White House interior reconstruction project, leaving a project to divert the Euphrates River in Iraq to do so.[7] He died on April 9, 1976, at Bethesda Naval Hospital.[8]

References
  1. "Glen Edgar Edgerton". Panama Canal Authority. Retrieved 2016-11-10.
  2. Official Register of the Officers and Cadets of the United States Military Academy (PDF). West Point, New York. 1908. p. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-03-17. Retrieved 2014-05-30.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. Robert Klara (2013). The Hidden White House. New York, New York. p. 109.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. Robert Klara (2013). The Hidden White House. New York, New York. p. 109.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  5. Robert Klara (2013). The Hidden White House. New York, New York. p. 109.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  6. "Edgerton To Head Canal. Colonel Is Nominated to Succeed Brig. Gen. C.S. Ridley". New York Times. July 6, 1940. Retrieved 2016-11-10.
  7. Robert Klara (2013). The Hidden White House. New York, New York. p. 110.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  8. "Gen. Glen E. Edgerton". Washington Post. April 12, 1976.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.