Henry Adams was an American mechanical engineer. He emigrated at age 22 to Baltimore from Duisburg

Duisburg

- History :A legend recorded by Johannes Aventinus holds that Duisburg, was built by the eponymous Tuisto, mythical progenitor of Germans, ca. 2395 BC...

, (Prussia

Prussia

Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...

) Germany having been educated as a building engineer. He later worked with the District of Columbia government buildings, and established a longstanding private practice in Baltimore, Maryland.

Public Life

In Baltimore, he first worked for the builder, Benjamin F. Bennett. In 1886 he became a heating

HVAC

HVAC refers to technology of indoor or automotive environmental comfort. HVAC system design is a major subdiscipline of mechanical engineering, based on the principles of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer...

 and ventilating engineer with the Office of the Supervising Architect

Office of the Supervising Architect

The Office of the Supervising Architect was an agency of the United States Treasury Department that designed federal government buildings from 1852 to 1939....

 of the United States Department of the Treasury

United States Department of the Treasury

The Department of the Treasury is an executive department and the treasury of the United States federal government. It was established by an Act of Congress in 1789 to manage government revenue...

. In 1894 he joined the American Society of Heating and Ventilating Engineers (ASHVE) as one of 75 charter members. He served on the organization's Compulsory Legislation committee. He later served as ASHVE president (from 1899 to 1900), on the board of managers, and participated on their council. He was president of the board of the Maryland Institute in Baltimore, currently known as the Maryland Institute College of Art

Maryland Institute College of Art

Maryland Institute College of Art is an art and design college in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. It was founded in 1826 as the Maryland Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts, making it one of the first and oldest art colleges in the United States. In 2008, MICA was ranked #2 in the nation...

. He taught at the institute for 12 years then he participated as a board member and later as president of the board (until his death 45 years later). Adams served as a Federal Fuel Administration

Federal Fuel Administration

The Federal Fuel Administration was a World War I-era agency of the Federal government of the United States established by of August 23, 1917 pursuant to the Food and Fuel Control Act....

 engineer for Maryland and Delaware during World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

.

Professional life

Adams began his own practice in 1898; the company became Henry Adams LLC, which still exists today in Towson, Maryland

Towson, Maryland

Towson is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 55,197 at the 2010 census...

. His engineering design is also found in several Baltimore buildings: the Bromo Seltzer Tower, Maryland Institute and the Baltimore Museum of Art

Baltimore Museum of Art

The Baltimore Museum of Art in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, was founded in 1914. Built in the Roman Temple style, the Museum is home to an internationally renowned collection of 19th-century, modern, and contemporary art. Founded in 1914 with a single painting, the BMA today has 90,000 works...

, Belvedere Hotel, and the first renovation of the Baltimore Courthouse. As a federal engineer, he designed the mechanical system for Ellis Island

Ellis Island

Ellis Island in New York Harbor was the gateway for millions of immigrants to the United States. It was the nation's busiest immigrant inspection station from 1892 until 1954. The island was greatly expanded with landfill between 1892 and 1934. Before that, the much smaller original island was the...

. He oversaw mechanical equipment design for the Peking Union Medical College

Peking Union Medical College

Peking Union Medical College is among the most selective medical colleges in the People's Republic of China and is renowned both in its own right and for being connected to one of China's most prestigious institutions of higher learning.-History:...

 in China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, and designed equipment for the Masonic temple

Masonic Temple

Masonic Temple is a term commonly used in Freemasonry with multiple but related meanings. It is used to describe an abstract spiritual goal, the conceptual ritualistic space formed when a Masonic Lodge meets, and the physical rooms and structures in which a Lodge meets...

 in Manila

Manila

Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...

.

Family life

Married to Mary Elizabeth Klingelhofer, whose parents, John E and Mary Klingelhofer, were Baltimore bakers who had emigrated from Hessen, Germany.
Adams had three sons: Otto Eugene Adams

Otto Eugene Adams

Otto Eugene Adams the Architect was born in Baltimore November 1, 1889 to a family with Baltimore and German ancestry. He died in Baltimore County on January 29, 1968.-Family:...

 (architect), Ernest H. Adams and Clarence T. Adams (engineers).

Henry Adams Scholarship

A college scholarship was established by the firm, Henry Adams LLC, in the memory of Adams. The endowment is coordinated by ASHRAE.

Sources

• Making it work on the inside; Engineering: For 100 years, Henry Adams Inc. has made some of the finest structures in the mid-Atlantic region function properly.; Shanon D. Murray. The Sun. Baltimore, Md.: Apr 26, 1998. pg. 1.F - - ProQuest document ID: 29147560
• The History of Henry Adams Consulting Engineers<
• Mechanical Engineers in America Born Prior to 1861: A Biographical Dictionary. New York: American Society of Mechanical Engineers. 1980.