American Scientist

William Barclay Parsons was born in 1859 into a socially prominent New York City family that traced its American roots back to colonial times. After beginning his secondary education at an exclusive school in England and completing it under private tutors while traveling about Europe, he returned to New York to attend Columbia College, from which he earned a bachelor of arts degree in 1879. He then studied in the Columbia School of Mines, from which he graduated in 1882 with the degree of civil engineer. He thus possessed the rudiments to design a significant part of the city's underground infrastructure, which remains in service today as a major component of the New York City subway system. His engineering talents would take him around the world to battle the forces of nature and of nations, but he would always return to New York. Indeed, he would be described by the New York Times as "city-born, city-bred, and city-minded," having exhibited as he did the civic responsibility bestowed on him by his ancestry and his chosen profession.