Los Angeles
County
Biographies
THOMAS RICHARD HERLIHY
Thomas Richard Herlihy, who is in
charge of the power plant of the Convent of the Good Shepherd at Los Angeles in
the capacity of chief engineer, has long enjoyed an enviable reputation in the
engineering field. He was born in County
Kerry, Ireland, April 28, 1880, a son of Richard and Norah (Carmody)
Herlihy, and acquired his education in the schools of
the Emerald Isle. For a time he worked
as a farm hand and when a youth of eighteen years obtained the position of
foreman in a creamery machinery plant.
At the age of nineteen years he crossed the Atlantic to the United
States, locating first in Sioux City, Iowa, where he became associated with the
Cudahy Packing Company. It was by
private study that he gained the knowledge which enabled him to pass the state
examination that qualified him for an engineer’s license. Thereafter he was connected with the Cudahy
Packing Company in Omaha, Nebraska, while his next position was that of fireman
with the Chicago & Northwestern Railway on the run between Sioux City,
Iowa, and St. James, Minnesota. In the
year 1906 he came west to Los Angeles and here entered the engine room of the
California Rolling Mills. While in this
position he formed the acquaintance of John Topham,
chief engineer for the Union Oil Company, who has remained his friend
throughout the years. Subsequently Mr.
Herlihy was identified with the Maier Packing Company as chief engineer for
several years and afterward entered the construction department of the Los
Angeles Gas & Electric Company. On
leaving the service of the latter corporation he took charge of the power plant
of the Convent of the Good Shepherd, of which he has been chief engineer. In 1928-29 he was national president of the
National Association of Power Engineers, which he has also served as vice
president. He has been a member of the
local organization of power engineers since 1906 and has held every office in the
association.
Mr. Herlihy is vice president of the
board of mechanical engineers of the city of Los Angeles, and he has always
remained a student along the line of his chosen profession, in which he has won
well deserved recognition. The period of
his residence in Los Angeles now covers more than a quarter of a century and he
has an extensive circle of warm friends here.
Transcribed
by V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: California of the South
Vol. IV, by John Steven McGroarty, Pages 807-808,
Clarke Publ., Chicago, Los Angeles, Indianapolis. 1933.
© 2012 V.
Gerald Iaquinta.
GOLDEN NUGGET'S LOS ANGELES
BIOGRAPHIES