Hammond, John Hays, 1855-1936

Engineer.

John Hays Hammond, Sr., (1855 March 31-1936 June 8) was a mining expert and superintendent of mines in California and Mexico, 1881-1893; worked for Cecil Rhodes and others in South Africa, 1893-1899; consultant in England, 1896-1900, and in Mexico, 1900; general manager and consulting engineer for Guggenheim Exploration Co., 1903-1907; chairman Engineers, Exploration & Mining Corp. since 1933; professor of mining engineering, Yale University, 1902-1909; chairman U.S. Coal Commission, 1922-1923.

Born March 31, 1855, in San Francisco, California.

Died June 8, 1936, in Gloucester, Massachusetts.

Father, Richard Pindell Hammond (U. S. Military Academy 1841), Major U.S. Army; chairman of police commissioners of San Francisco; collector of Port of San Francisco; president San Francisco Board of Education; son of Dr. William Hammond and Mary (Tilghman) Hammond, of Hagerstown, Maryland. Mother, Sarah Elizabeth (Hays) Hammond; daughter of Harmon and Elizabeth (Cage) Hays, of Tennessee.

Hopkins Grammar School. Select course; on Class Supper Committee Freshman year; secretary Yale Athletic Club Senior year; member The Cloister and Book Snake.

Attended Royal School of Mines, Freiberg, Germany, 1876-1879; special expert U. S. Geological Survey 1879-1880; mining expert with office in San Francisco 1881-1882; superintendent Minas Neuvas, near Sonora, Mexico, 1882-1883; consulting engineer, mining department Union Iron Works, San Francisco, 1884-1993; and Central Pacific Railway and Southern Pacific Railway; consulting engineer for Barnato Brothers in Transvaal, South Africa, April-October, 1893, for Cecil Rhodes 1894-1899, for Consolidated Gold Fields of South Africa 1894-1899, British South Africa Company 1894-1899; had independent office as consulting engineer in London, England, 1896-1900; consulting engineer El Oro gold mines in Mexico 1900; general manager and consulting engineer Guggenheim Exploration Company 1903-1907; engaged in mining engineering and other purchase and promotion of mines, hydroelectric, and irrigation projects since 1907; chairman Engineers Exploration and Mining Corporation since 1933; professor of mining engineering at Yale 1902-1909; chairman United States Coal Commission 1922-1923; chairman New England Governors' Emergency Fuel Committee 1925; honorary M. A. Yale 1898 and LL. D.. 1925; D. E. Stevens Institute of Technology 1906; LL. D. St. John's College (Maryland) 1907; E. M. Colorado School of Mines 1909; Sc. D. University of Pittsburgh 1915; Eng. D. University of Pennsylvania 1928; LL. D. Colby 1936 (conferred posthumously); author: The Truth About the Jameson Raid (1918), Great American Issues (1921), The Engineer (1921), and Autobiography (1935); special representative of the President of the United States at coronation of George V of England 1911; chairman International Congress of Mines and Metallurgy at St. Louis Exposition 1904, World Court Commission 1914-1915, and department on political education, National Civic Federation, since 1908; president American Institute of Mining Engineers 1907-1908; National League of Republican Clubs 1908-1912; and California Society of New York; headed special commission of Panama-Pacific Exposition to Europe 1912; vice president Boy's Clubs of America, Inc.; since 1919; gave money for land, building, and original equipment for Hammond Metallurgical Laboratory, Yale University, 1903; established a loan fund for deserving students of the Sheffield Scientific School 1904; established Hammond Scholarship for student from Mexico 1923; member American Committee of International Chamber of Commerce; honorary member of American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers (received William Lawrence Saunders Medal 1929), and American Society of Mechanical Engineers; fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences and American Academy for the Advancement of Science.

Married January 1, 1881, in Hancock, Maryland., Natalie, daughter of James W. M. and Mary C. (Lum) Harris, of Mississippi. Children Harris, ex -'06 S.; John Hays, '10 S.; Richard Pindell, '20S.; Nathaniel Harris (died 1906); and Natalie. Mrs. Hammond died June 18, 1931.

Death due to coronary occlusion. Buried in Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York. Survived by three sons, daughter, and a sister, Mrs. Elizabeth Hammond, of Gloucester, Mass.

(Taken from the Yale Obituary Record )