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William Lawrence Saunders

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William Lawrence Saunders
Saunders in 1916
Born(1856-11-01)November 1, 1856
DiedJune 25, 1931(1931-06-25) (aged 74)
Known forChairman of the board of Ingersoll Rand
SpouseBertha Louise Gaston
ChildrenLouise Saunders Perkins
Jean Saunders Lancaster
Parent(s)William Trebell Saunders
Eliza S. Morton

William Lawrence Saunders (November 1, 1856 - June 25, 1931) was a mining engineer who was chairman of the Naval Consulting Board during World War I. He was chairman of the board of Ingersoll Rand.[1][2]

Biography

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He was born in 1856 to Reverend William Trebell Saunders and Eliza S. Morton in Columbus, Georgia. His family moved to Apalachicola, Florida, where his father became the pastor of the Trinity Protestant Episcopal Church.[2]

He married Bertha Louise Gaston on August 3, 1886, in Kingston, Rhode Island. They had two daughters, Louise Saunders Perkins and Jean Saunders Lancaster.[3]

On March 24, 1904, he was made president of the Ingersoll Sergeant Drill Company after the death of William Russell Grace. In May 1905, the Ingersoll-Sergeant Drill Company and the Rand Drill Company merged into Ingersoll Rand. He became the first president of the now combined Ingersoll Rand in 1906.[2]

He resided in North Plainfield, New Jersey. He died on June 25, 1931, in Tenerife on the Canary Islands.[1] He was buried in Hillside Cemetery in Scotch Plains, New Jersey.

Saunders was the first president of the New Jersey Men's League for Women's Suffrage.[4]

He also served as the 1915 president of AIME (American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers). and deputy chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

References

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  1. ^ a b "W. L. Saunders Dies In Canary Islands. Chairman of the Ingersoll-Rand Company Stricken at the Age of 74. Was Noted as Inventor. Wrote Much on Politics. Served on War Boards. A Close Friend of President Wilson. Descendant of Pioneers". New York Times. June 26, 1931. Retrieved 2015-03-18.
  2. ^ a b c F. W. Iredell (1907). "William Lawrence Saunders". Cassier's magazine. Retrieved 2015-03-19.
  3. ^ "Saunders' Millions Left To Daughters. Will of North Plainfield Inventor Includes Gift to William and Mary College". New York Times. February 25, 1932. Retrieved 2015-03-18.
  4. ^ Dodyk, Delight Wing (May 1997). "Education and Agitation: The Woman Suffrage Movement in New Jersey". ProQuest Dissertations Publishing: 308–309 – via ProQuest.
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The Saunders Gold Medal, established in 1927, recognizes distinguished achievement in mining other than coal. This award is administered by AIME Member Society, SME. <#AIMEHQ.org>