Canvass White

Canvass White
Born	September 8, 1790 Whitestown, New York
Died	December 18, 1834 St. Augustine, Florida
Nationality	United States
Work
Significant projects	Delaware and Raritan Canal

Canvass White (September 8, 1790 – December 18, 1834) was an American engineer and inventor. He was chief engineer at the Delaware and Raritan Canal and he patented a type of hydraulic cement.

Birth

He was born on September 8, 1790, in Whitestown, New York. He received his education at the Fairfield Academy.

Engineer

His first job as an engineer was on the Erie Canal in 1816 working for chief engineer Judge Benjamin Wright. In the autumn of 1817, he travelled to England to study their canal system. When he returned he patented a type of hydraulic cement. He continued his work on New York until 1824. Then from 1824 until the summer of 1826, he was Chief Engineer on the Union Canal (Pennsylvania). He was then appointed Chief Engineer of the Delaware and Raritan Canal in 1825 and of the Lehigh Canal in 1827. He was also a Consulting Engineer for the Schuylkill Navigation Company and for the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal. He became President of the Cohoes Company when it was incorporated on March 28, 1826.

Of White, author Bill Bryson writes, "the great unsung Canvass White didn't just make New York rich, more profoundly, he helped to make America."

Death

He died in 1834 and was buried in Princeton Cemetery.

Further reading

• Whitford's History of New York Canals, (1906), Vol II, page 1170
• Albert C. Jensen; Engineering Clinton's Ditch; Civil Engineering, volume 33, September 1963, pages 48–50
• William Pierrepont White; Canvass White's Services Buffalo Historical Society (1909) volume 13, page 352-366

External links

• Canvass White at Find a Grave
• Canvass White – Obituary