Alfred Brooks Fry

Alfred Brooks Fry (March 3, 1860 – December 4, 1933), was a marine, mechanical and civil engineer. He was head of the New York Naval Militia and served on active duty during the Spanish–American War and World War I. and chief superintendent of United States public buildings in New York City.

Early life He was born in New York City on March 3, 1860, to Brevet Major Thomas William Gardiner Fry (1832–1869), who served in the American Civil War, and Frances E. Olney. He was the great-grandson of Captain Benjamin Fry (d. 1799) who served in the Rhode Island Militia during the American Revolution.

Early career He entered Columbia College in 1877 and pursued a course in engineering but dropped out to pursue a career as a mariner. Their only son, Sheridan Brooks Fry, was born in 1893.

In 1900 he was named as the naval aide-de-camp to Governor Theodore Roosevelt to replace Samuel Dana Greene, Jr., who died of hypothermia when he fell through the ice while skating in Schenectady, New York. Fry continued in this position in the administration of Governor Odell.

Later career In addition to his position with the Government, Fry also worked as a consultant in civil, mechanical, and electrical engineer for large corporations. He designed the ventilation system of the state of the art Lyceum Theater, which opened in September 1903.

Fry was appointed on February 18, 1904, by Governor Benjamin Odell of New York as a member of the Board of Consulting Engineers for canal construction and enlargement. He served in this capacity until 1911. His widow died in 1936.

Memberships Fry belonged to numerous organizations including the New York Athletic Club, Army and Navy Club, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and the American Society of Naval Engineers. He was also a member of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, Society of Colonial Wars, Military Order of Foreign Wars and the Naval and Military Order of the Spanish War.

Legacy There is a large stone plaque listing Fry's accomplishments on display at the Newport Historical Society in Newport, Rhode Island.

There is a similar plaque honoring Fry's father, Brevet Major Thomas William Gardiner Fry (1832–1869), in the armory of the Varnum Continentals in East Greenwich, Rhode Island. Major Fry was wounded in action at the Battle of Chancellorsville and recovered from his wounds to fight at the Battle of Gettysburg two months later. The plaque was presented by his relative William Congdon Fry in 1938.