Elwood Mead

Elwood Mead (January 16, 1858 in Patriot, Indiana – January 26, 1936) was a professor, politician and engineer who headed the Bureau of Reclamation from 1924 until his death in 1936.

During his tenure he was responsible for overseeing some of the most complex projects the Bureau of Reclamation have undertaken. These included the Hoover, Grand Coulee and Owyhee Dams. [cite web|url=http://www.sunsetcities.com/lake-mead/dr%20elwood%20mead.html
title=Dr. Elwood Mead Commissioner of Bureau of Reclamation 1924-1936 - Lake Mead NRA
accessdate=December 4
accessyear=2005
]

Early life

Mead grew up in Indiana and graduated from Purdue with a Bachelor of Science in 1882. He then earned his Doctorate in Civil Engineering from Iowa State College a mere year later, in 1883. From there he taught mathematics at Colorado Agriculture College from 1883 until 1884 and again from 1886 to 1888. [cite web|url=http://www.usbr.gov/history/mead.htm
title=Reclamation Commissioners
accessdate=December 4
accessyear=2005
]

Public service

In 1888, he became the territorial and state engineer of Wyoming. From 1888 until 1899, he was key in drafting the water laws for Wyoming and Colorado.

In 1907, Mead became Chairman of State Rivers and Water Supply Commission in Victoria, Australia. In 1911, he returned to the United States to become the professor of Rural Institutions, University of California, and chairman of the California Land Settlement Board. His ideas about developing efficient rural communities would later influence what would become the Resettlement Administration communities of the New Deal. He stayed on in these capacities until 1924 when he became the Chairman of the Bureau of Reclamation. In 1923 and again in 1927, he went to Palestine to help the Zionists develop irrigation and development plans. [cite web|url=http://web.macam.ac.il/~arnon/Int-ME/water/AN%20AMERICAN%20IN%20PALESTINE.htm
title=AN AMERICAN IN PALESTINE: ELWOOD MEAD AND ZIONIST WATER RESOURCE PLANNING, 1923-1936
accessdate=December 4
accessyear=2005
]

ee also

*Lake Mead
*Hoover Dam

References

External links

* [http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A100456b.htm J. M. Powell, 'Mead, Elwood (1858-1936)' Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 10, Melbourne University Press, 1986, pp 467-468.]