Elwood Mead

Elwood Mead (1858-1936) was territorial engineer and later, the first state engineer of Wyoming, 1888-1889, and author of its first water code. From 1899-1907, he was in charge of irrigation investigations for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He was chairman of the Rivers and Water Supply Commission in Victoria, Australia, 1907-1915, professor of Rural Institutions at the University of California, 1915-1924, and Commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation from 1924 until his death in 1936. Mead supervised the construction of Hoover Dam; Lake Mead was named in his honor.

From the guide to the Elwood Mead papers, 1882-1958, (University of Wyoming. American Heritage Center.)