Stephen Bechtel Sr.

Stephen Davison Bechtel (September 24, 1900 – March 14, 1989)[1] was the son of Clara Alice West and Warren A. Bechtel, founder of the Bechtel Corporation. Stephen was the president of the company from 1933 through 1960.

Not to be confused with Stephen Bechtel Jr..
Stephen Davison Bechtel
BornSeptember 24, 1900
Aurora, Indiana, US
Died14 March 1989(1989-03-14) (aged 88)
Oakland, California, US
Resting placeMountain View Cemetery in Oakland, California
NationalityAmerican
OccupationBusinessman
Spouse(s)Laura A. Peart (1903–1992)
Children2, including Stephen Bechtel Jr.
Parent(s)Warren A. Bechtel (1872–1933)
Clara A. West (1873–1941)
RelativesKenneth K. Bechtel

History

Stephen graduated from Oakland Technical High School[2] in 1918, and served with the 20th Engineers, part of the American Expeditionary Force sent to assist France in World War I. After the war, in 1919, he attended the University of California, Berkeley for one year, leaving to work for his father's company full-time.

In 1925, Warren A. Bechtel, his sons Warren Jr, Stephen Sr, Kenneth (Ken), and his brother Arthur (Art) joined to incorporate as W.A. Bechtel Company. Stephen Sr became vice-president of Bechtel in 1925, and became president in 1933, when his father Warren A. Bechtel died suddenly while traveling abroad. His father's death came at a critical time for the company: concrete was being poured for the Hoover Dam, Bechtel's largest project. Stephen became president and saw the company through the construction of the Hoover Dam. Over the next thirty years, he expanded Bechtel into a huge and successful engineering company with operations all over the world. Stephen handed the presidency of the company over to his son, Stephen Jr. in 1960, but stayed on as the chairman until 1969.

He was awarded an honorary degree in Agricultural Science by UC Berkeley in 1954. In 1980, the school completed construction of the Bechtel Engineering Center, which was named in his honor.

In 1976, Bechtel received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.[3]

Stephen Bechtel died in 1989. He is buried in Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland, California.

Stephen was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century.[4]

The undergraduate engineering center of the University of California, Berkeley is named the "Bechtel Engineering Center".

The Faculty of Engineering and Architecture at The American University of Beirut (AUB) is named "The Bechtel Engineering Building" after its donor, Stephen D. Bechtel.

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References
  1. Hydraulicians in the USA 1800-–2000
  2. "Stephen Bechtel, Class of 1918". School Historical Archive. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  3. "Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement". www.achievement.org. American Academy of Achievement.
  4. "TIME 100 Persons of The Century". Time. 1999-06-06. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
  • Herman, Arthur. Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II, Random House, New York, NY. ISBN 978-1-4000-6964-4.
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