Sullivan, John Francis, 1878-

John Francis Sullivan (1878- ) was an engineer who worked on New York City municipal improvement projects from the 1900s through the 1920s. In 1930 he was appointed City Planner. From 1918 to 1920, as an Army Reserve officer, Sullivan directed construction of the United States Nitrate Plant No. 2 at Muscle Shoals, Alabama. He also served in 1927 as a consultant on the construction of the Cooper River Bridge in Charleston, South Carolina.

From the description of John Francis Sullivan papers, ca. 1906-1933, bulk (1920-1930). (New York Public Library). WorldCat record id: 86164297

John Francis Sullivan (1878-) was an engineer who worked on New York City municipal improvement projects from the 1900s through the 1920s. In 1930 he was appointed City Planner. From 1918 to 1920, as an Army Reserve officer, Sullivan directed construction of the United States Nitrate Plant No. 2 at Muscle Shoals, Alabama. He also served in 1927 as a consultant on the construction of the Cooper River Bridge in Charleston, South Carolina.

Sullivan was born in Hendersonville, North Carolina in 1878, and graduated from Clemson College in South Carolina in 1900. From 1900 to 1904 Sullivan worked as a draftsman and engineer for the United States Army in Washington D.C. and in New York City. From 1906 to 1908 he was an assistant engineer with the Pennsylvania Railroad working on the New York/New Jersey Hudson River tunnels. From 1908 through the end of the 1920s, except for the nearly two years he spent in Muscle Shoals, and some private consulting work, Sullivan was employed by, or served as a consultant to, a number of New York City departments and agencies, including: Public Service Commission, Engineering Department; Board of Estimate and Apportionment; Borough of Manhattan, Bureau of Highways; and the Office of the Manhattan Borough President (Julius Miller). In New York City, Sullivan was also a consultant to the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce and the New York State Transit Commission.

There are obituaries for nine John Sullivans in the New York Times Obituaries Index, but this John Sullivan is the subject of none of them. Sullivan probably died after 1930, when he was appointed City Planner, and before 1937, the date these papers arrived at the New York Public Library.

From the guide to the John Francis Sullivan papers, ca. 1906-1933, 1920-1930, (The New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division.)