Joseph Nathaniel French
Encyclopedia
Joseph Nathaniel French, Sr. (October 24, 1888 – February 28, 1975) was an architect with Albert Kahn Associates, Inc. from 1914 to 1967. He was the chief architect for the Fisher Building
in Detroit, Michigan
.
, Emma Matilda French (1879-1884), Nettie Eveline French (1886-1896) and Marion Ruth French (1897-1982). French attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
, and graduated in 1911. He first married Amie Gertrude Lathe (1885-1921), May 14, 1912 at St. Stephens Episcopal Church in Boston, Massachusetts. He was put in charge of the last stages of construction on Henry Ford
's Fairlane Manor in Dearborn, Michigan
in 1913. In 1914 he started work for Albert Kahn Associates, Inc. in Detroit, Michigan
, as a draftsman and then as an architect. By 1916 he was living at 2098 Woodward Avenue in Detroit. On June 10, 1921 his wife Amie died, and on June 8, 1926 he married Yolanda Christina Tandberg (1902-2003). Yolanda was the daughter of Thorvald Martin Tandberg (1874-1970) and Alvilde Marie Magdalene Naess (1875-1933) of Norway. She was 14 years younger than Joseph. They had several children including, Joseph Nathaniel French, Jr. While at Kahn he was chief architect for the Fisher Building
in 1928. From 1930 to 1932 he worked at the Albert Kahn Associates, Inc. Moscow office with twenty-four other Kahn engineers and architects. One of his projects was the steel work of the General Motors
Futurama
building at the 1939 New York World's Fair
. He worked on the design of the Chrysler plant near Kansas City. He died on February 28, 1975 in Livonia, Michigan
. He was buried in Roseland Park Cemetery at 29001 Woodward Avenue, Berkley, Michigan
.
Fisher Building
The Fisher Building is an ornate Art Deco skyscraper located on the corner of West Grand Boulevard and Second Avenue in the heart of the New Center area of Detroit, Michigan. It is constructed of limestone, granite, and several types of marble, and was financed by the Fisher family with proceeds...
in Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
.
Biography
He was born on October 24, 1888 in Boston, Massachusetts to Joseph Brown Morse French (1854-1928) and Erlenia H.M. Faulkner (1857-1939). He had four sisters, Frances Gertrude French (1877-1878) who died of choleraCholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
, Emma Matilda French (1879-1884), Nettie Eveline French (1886-1896) and Marion Ruth French (1897-1982). French attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
, and graduated in 1911. He first married Amie Gertrude Lathe (1885-1921), May 14, 1912 at St. Stephens Episcopal Church in Boston, Massachusetts. He was put in charge of the last stages of construction on Henry Ford
Henry Ford
Henry Ford was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry...
's Fairlane Manor in Dearborn, Michigan
Dearborn, Michigan
-Economy:Ford Motor Company has its world headquarters in Dearborn. In addition its Dearborn campus contains many research, testing, finance and some production facilities. Ford Land controls the numerous properties owned by Ford including sales and leasing to unrelated businesses such as the...
in 1913. In 1914 he started work for Albert Kahn Associates, Inc. in Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
, as a draftsman and then as an architect. By 1916 he was living at 2098 Woodward Avenue in Detroit. On June 10, 1921 his wife Amie died, and on June 8, 1926 he married Yolanda Christina Tandberg (1902-2003). Yolanda was the daughter of Thorvald Martin Tandberg (1874-1970) and Alvilde Marie Magdalene Naess (1875-1933) of Norway. She was 14 years younger than Joseph. They had several children including, Joseph Nathaniel French, Jr. While at Kahn he was chief architect for the Fisher Building
Fisher Building
The Fisher Building is an ornate Art Deco skyscraper located on the corner of West Grand Boulevard and Second Avenue in the heart of the New Center area of Detroit, Michigan. It is constructed of limestone, granite, and several types of marble, and was financed by the Fisher family with proceeds...
in 1928. From 1930 to 1932 he worked at the Albert Kahn Associates, Inc. Moscow office with twenty-four other Kahn engineers and architects. One of his projects was the steel work of the General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
Futurama
Futurama (New York World's Fair)
Futurama was an exhibit/ride at the 1939 New York World's Fair designed by Norman Bel Geddes that tried to show the world 20 years into the future . Sponsored by the General Motors Corporation, the installation was characterised by its automated highways and vast suburbs...
building at the 1939 New York World's Fair
1939 New York World's Fair
The 1939–40 New York World's Fair, which covered the of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park , was the second largest American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904. Many countries around the world participated in it, and over 44 million people...
. He worked on the design of the Chrysler plant near Kansas City. He died on February 28, 1975 in Livonia, Michigan
Livonia, Michigan
Livonia is a city in the northwest part of Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Livonia is a very large suburb with an array of traditional neighborhoods connected to the metropolitan area by freeways. The population was 96,942 at the 2010 census, making it Michigan's 9th largest...
. He was buried in Roseland Park Cemetery at 29001 Woodward Avenue, Berkley, Michigan
Berkley, Michigan
Berkley is a city in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is an inner suburb of Detroit. As of the 2010 census, the total population was 14,970.-Downtown, Dream Cruise, etc.:...
.
Descendants
- First Marriage: Juanita Leslie French and Christina Lathe French
- Second Marriage: Carolyn Alvilde French, Natalie Joan French, Joseph Nathaniel French and Yolanda Erlenia French
- 22 Grandchildren, twenty living and two of which have passed away; Robert Christopher Mills, son of Yolanda and Karen Ann Cangelosi, daughter of Natalie
- 37 living Great-Grandchildren and 34+ living Great-Great-Grandchildren
External links
- Joseph Nathaniel French at Findagrave
- Joseph Nathaniel French at FlickrFlickrFlickr is an image hosting and video hosting website, web services suite, and online community that was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and acquired by Yahoo! in 2005. In addition to being a popular website for users to share and embed personal photographs, the service is widely used by bloggers to...
- Joseph Nathaniel French at FamilypediaFamilypediaFamilypedia is a free-to-use public wiki on family history and genealogy. It is hosted by Wikia, a wiki farm. Familypedia is a collaborative effort by amateur genealogists and family historians, with over 30,000 unique people having their own pages among 100,000 articles , with over 114,000 other...
- Joseph Nathaniel French at KnolKnolKnol is a Google project that aims to include user-written articles on a range of topics. The project was led by Udi Manber of Google, announced December 13, 2007, and was opened in beta to the public on July 23, 2008 with a few hundred articles mostly in the health and medical field.Knol has no...
- Joseph Nathaniel French at FacebookFacebookFacebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...