Marine Engineer in Detroit, Mich.
Frank E. Kirby was born in Cleveland, Ohio on July 1, 1849. He married Mary F. Thorp of Wyandotte, Mich. on Oct. 9, 1876. Kirby was educated in the public school of Cleveland and Saginaw, Mich., and graduated from Cooper Institute. In 1861 he was on the engineering staff of the Allaire Works, which built machinery for Civil War ships. He came to Detroit in 1870 and built the iron shipyard for E.B. Ward in Wyandotte. After several years he to the East. Mr. Kirby was associated with the Detroit Dry Dock Company and the Detroit Shipbuilding Company. There were at least one hundred fifty ships of his design on the Great Lakes, including ferries and ice crushers. He even received orders from Russia for ice crushers. Kirby invented a non-sinkable lifeboat and supervised the construction of Ford's "Eagles" during World War I. He also served as a consultant for the Submarine Boat Corporation of New York. Frank Kirby died in Bronxville, N.Y. on Aug. 25, 1929.
From the description of Frank E. Kirby papers, 1870-1924. (Detroit Public Library). WorldCat record id: 310355514
