engineer, professor, b. Fulton, N.Y. He moved with his parents to Rockford, Ill., in 1874. He graduated from Cornell Univ. (B.C.E., 1884), worked for one year with the U.S. Geological Survey, and from 1885 to 1887 was city engineer for Rockford. From 1887 to 1896 he headed a Rockford construction company, and as a consulting engineer in Rockford, Chicago, and, after 1904, in Madison, he was connected with the construction of numerous engineering projects, especially dams, water-supply systems, and hydro-electric plants. In 1904 he came to the Univ. of Wisconsin as professor of hydraulic and sanitary engineering, and served in this capacity part time until his retirement to emeritus status in 1932. After retiring from the university, he continued to make his home in Madison, and maintained offices as a consulting engineer in both Madison and New York. During his career he served on numerous planning and advisory boards, and in 1914 journeyed to China to advise that government on an extensive flood-control system. He was the author of several books and articles on engineering, and in 1928 served on President Coolidge's Colorado River Board to pass on the feasibility of the Boulder Canyon project. Who's Who in Amer., 24 (1946); Madison Capital Times, Oct. 13, 1948; D. W. Mead Papers.

The Wisconsin Historical Society has manuscripts related to this topic. See the catalog description of the Daniel Webster Mead Papers for details.

View newspaper clippings at Wisconsin Local History and Biography Articles.

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[Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin biography]