Washington Irving Babcock (1858-1917)
Papers, 1874-1917

Biographical Note

Washington Irving Babcock was born September 26, 1858 at Stonington, CT. He was the son of Captain David S. Babcock and Charlotte (Noyes) Babcock. The Babcocks moved to Brooklyn, NY during his childhood. Babcock attended Brooklyn public schools and obtained a B.S. degree from Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute. He entered Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1876 and was awarded a degree in civil engineering in 1878. He worked briefly with Morgan's Iron Works in New York and then took a position with John Roach & Sons, Chester, PA. He was with the Roach firm from 1878 to 1885. Babcock worked at the Providence & Stonington Steamship Co. from 1885 to 1887 and then assumed the superintendency of the Union Dry Dock Co. in Buffalo, NY. In 1889, he organized the Chicago Shipbuilding Co. and initially served as general manager. Babcock became president of the company ten years later, a position he served in briefly until the company was absorbed by the American Ship Building Co. in 1900. He then moved back to New York where he served as a consultant, eventually forming a partnership with Henry Penton under the name of Babcock & Penton.

Washington Irving Babcock was perhaps the best known naval architect of his time. He introduced and adapted pneumatic tools that decreased the dependency on labor in shipbuilding. He introduced the mould system of construction which became universal in shipyards. He designed 400 ft. bulk freighters designed for seaway shipping on the St. Lawrence and Great Lakes. Babcock was a vice president of the council of the American Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, member of the Society of Consulting Engineers, member of the Institute of naval Architects of Great Britain, and a member of the United States Naval Institute. Washington Irving Babcock died at his home in New York on August 7th, 1917.

Scope Note

The Washington Irving Babcock Papers consists of eight scrapbooks, sketchbooks and journals kept during the course of his life from his school days to the latter part of his career. The scrapbooks have been arranged in flat boxes according to size. Most of the books are in extremely brittle condition. The earliest scrapbook dating from 1874 includes clippings on a wide variety of topics, math notes, short stories (perhaps written for school assignments), and expense accounts. Two sketchbooks display Babcock's artistic talent. An RPI scrapbook (indexed) includes clippings, ephemera and report cards from his days as a student and member of Delta Kappa Epsilon through his years as an active alumnus. A scrapbook dating from 1883 consists entirely of obituary clippings including several pages of clippings regarding the death of his father, Captain David S. Babcock and several pages devoted to John Roach, his former employer. Obituaries of noted individuals such as Mark Twain, Jenny Lind and Richard Wagner. Clippings regarding love and romance make up the bulk of material kept in a scrapbook dating from 1881-1883, a period when Babcock was likely courting his wife Grace Kernochan. Babcock kept a scrapbook of clippings, ephemera and photographs during the time of his work and residence in Chester, PA. Among the items he kept are a certificate of membership in the National Guard of Pennsylvania dated 1881 and his discharge dated 1886. A daily journal kept by Babcock from 1899 to 1903 notes his work at the Chicago Shipbuilding Co. The final scrapbook, dating from 1899 to 1915, contains many photographs of fishing and hunting trips to Moorhead Lake. Valentine, Christmas and other holiday cards from his wife are also included in this book.

Inventory