San Francisco
County
Biographies
RUDOLPH
WARNER VAN NORDEN
Rudolph
Warner Van Norden, consulting engineer, was born in
St. Albans Vermont; the son of Charles and Anna Hubbell (Mygatt)
Van Norden.
Student at Cornell University,
1892-94; then received his A.B. in Mechanical Engineering at Stanford in 1896.
Mr. Van Norden
began his career in 1896 as assistant engineer with Central California Electric
Company ( (sic) merged with Pacific Gas & Electric
Company in 1905, Sacramento, California, where he became chief engineer in 1899
and division superintendent, 1905-06. He has been consulting engineer, San
Francisco, since 1906.
Technical advisor to United States
Secretary of Interior on Boulder Dam (now Hoover Dam) questions, 1929-30;
consulting engineer for Bureau of Reclamation.
Chief statistician for San Francisco Traffic Survey, 1937; associate
engineer for Federal Power Commission in 1938; technical engineer for Ninth
Corps Area, Zone Construction, Quartermaster Corps, United States Army, 1941.
Mr. Van Norden
has been consulting engineer for State of California, Department of Public
Works of San Francisco, Oakland, Stockton, Modesto, Susanville, Sacramento,
Santa Cruz, and various counties, irrigation districts and individuals;
supervising engineer, locomotive oil fueling plant, Southern Pacific
Relocation, Shasta Dam Central Valleys project, California, 1942. Technical engineer on design and construction of low-head
hydro-electric powerplant (sic) for Truckee-Carson
irrigation District, Nevada, 1946-47. He designed and supervised
construction of many power plants and transmission systems; designed over fifty
high dams; owner of patent on multicone type of dams,
also on electromagnetic reduction gear for ship propulsion; has frequently
appeared as expert witness in county and federal Courts.
Mr. Van Norden
is rated as head engineer by United States Civil Service Commission. He was,
for many years, member of Court of Honor, San Francisco Area, Boy Scouts of
America; fellow and life member of American Institute of Electrical Engineers;
life member of American Society of Civil Engineers; member of Kappa Alpha
Fraternity (Southern); member of Engineers Club; Mason (32nd degree)
and registered Democrat.
On October 12, 1904 he married
Rowena Fay Jackson (died January 11, 1929).
Address: 1150 Franklin Street, San Francisco 9, California.
Transcribed By: Cecelia M. Setty.
Source: “Eminent Californians 1953”,
by Lee E. Johnson & C. W. Taylor. Page 309, C. W. Taylor Publ.,
Palo Alto, California, 1953.
© 2014 Cecelia M. Setty.
San Francisco County Biographies