William Barclay Parsons

William Barclay Parsons (April 15, 1859 - May 9, 1932) was a famous American civil engineer. He founded the firm that became Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade and Douglas, one of the largest american civil engineering firms.

He was also Chief Engineer of the New York Rapid Transit Commission, andwas responsible for the construction of the Interborough Rapid Transit or IRT subway line. A part of 158th Street in Queens New York City was named in his name as Parsons Blvd.

His books include:

• An American Engineer in China (1900)
• Engineers and Engineering of the Renaissance (1939)

External links

• http://www.nypl.org/research/sibl/science/scisubway.htm (timeline)

(Note: Ralph M. Parsons founded Parsons Corporation, another large civil engineering firm)