John Benjamin Henck

John Benjamin Henck (October 20, 1815 Philadelphia – January 3, 1903 Montecito, California) although educated as a classical scholar and graduating as valedictorian of the Harvard class of 1840 yet, during his career, transitioned to a practicing civil engineer.

[1] The need to provide for a growing family prompted him to turn his attention to the more lucrative field of civil engineering.

In 1848, he opened his own consulting practice and immediately had charge of the building of a railroad from Charlestown, New Hampshire, to Windsor, Vermont.

He was appointed engineer to the Massachusetts State Commission on Public Lands, and continued in that position, with an interruption of two or three years, until 1881.

[2] When the Massachusetts Institute of Technology began offering classes in 1865, he was the head of the department of civil engineering, a post he retained until 1881.