Robert Harris

Robert Harris (July 29, 1830 – April 21, 1894) was a civil engineer and railroad executive who became president of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad and Northern Pacific Railway.

Life Robert Harris was born on July 29, 1830, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. His father was educator William Coffin Harris (born 1767) and mother was Mary Johnson. His brother Charles Coffin Harris (1822–1881) became the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Kingdom of Hawaii. He studied civil engineering in Boston, and briefly studied law like his older brother.

In 1852 Harris became assistant engineer for the Hartford, Providence and Fishkill Railroad (later the New York and New England Railroad). In April 1853 he moved to Wisconsin and was resident engineer for Beloit and Madison Railroad (later the Chicago and North Western Railway). From April 1856 to February 1860 he was superintendent of the Racine and Mississippi Railroad (later part of the Milwaukee Road system). In April 1860 he moved to Texas to become superintendent of the Galveston, Houston and Henderson Railroad. From November 1860 to June 1861 he was superintendent of the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos and Colorado Railway.

During the American Civil War he worked for the Quartermaster's department of the Union Army in North Carolina.