Wood, Frederick W. (Frederick William), 1857-1943

Frederick William Wood was an executive and engineer in the steel and shipbuilding industries.

Frederick W. Wood was born in Lowell, Mass., on March 18, 1857, the son of the overseer of the Boott Cotton Mill. After graduating from M.I.T. with a degree in mining engineering in 1877, he went to work for the Pennsylvania Steel Company as a ladleman's helper. The Pennsylvania Steel Company has been established in 1866 with the financial backing of the Pennsylvania Railroad and had constructed one of the country's first integrated Bessemer rail rolling mills at Steelton, near Harrisburg, Pa. Because local ore supplies were limited, Wood was sent in 1882-83 to prospect and develop ore deposits along the Rio Juragua near Santiago, Cuba. His successful performance led to rapid promotion with appointments as superintendent in 1884 and general manager in 1889. In 1885 he was commissioned to locate a tidewater site where the imported ore could easily be combined with American coal. Between 1887 and 1890 he designed and constructed a large integrated steel mill at Sparrow's Point near Baltimore, along with a company town of over 3,000 people.

In 1891 the Sparrow's Point plant was spun off to a separate subsidiary, the Maryland Steel Company, with Wood as president. A shipbuilding division was added later in 1891. Wood ran the works and introduced a number of important technical improvements. His older brother Rufus was responsible for the running of the company town, which reflected the influence of the Lowell of his boyhood. In 1916 the entire Pennsylvania Steel Company system was sold to Charles M. Schwab's Bethlehem Steel Company, but since Wood was not a major stockholder, he did not profit from the sale. He was allowed to stay on as manager of the Sparrow's Point plant, but he chafed under Bethlehem's supervision and resigned in 1918. He then became vice president of the American International Shipbuilding Corporation and played a major part in the construction and operation of the world's greatest shipyard at Hog Island near Philadelphia.

From 1921 to 1923 Wood was a member of the claims commission of the U. S. Shipping Board. He was connected with the Eastern Rolling Mill Company of Baltimore from its organization in 1919 and was chairman from 1933 until his death in Baltimore on December 23, 1943. In later life he was active in Baltimore civic affairs and was a member of the executive committee of Johns Hopkins University from 1913 to 1943.

From the description of Papers, 1867-1942. (Hagley Museum & Library). WorldCat record id: 122547709