Henry M. Brinckerhoff

Henry Morton Brinckerhoff (20 April 1868 Beacon, New York – 12 October 1949 Englewood, New Jersey) was a pioneering highway engineer who in 1906 partnered with William Barclay Parsons to found what would eventually be known as Parsons Brinckerhoff, one of the largest transportation, planning and engineering companies in the United States.

Engineering innovations Brinckerhoff specialized in electric railways and he is best known for his co-invention of the third rail, which revolutionized rapid transit. He subsequently played a key role in the planning and development of transit systems of Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland and Cincinnati. Brinckerhoff also designed the network of roads at the 1939 New York World's Fair.

Formal education Brinckerhoff was educated at Trinity School in New York City and at the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, where he graduated in 1890 with a degree in mechanical engineering and was valedictorian of his class.