Theodore E. Ferris

Theodore Ernest Ferris (August 17, 1872 – May 30, 1953) was an American naval architect and engineer responsible for the "Ferris Designs" used for accelerated expansion and construction of cargo and passenger steamships by the United States wartime defense public / private shipbuilding and acquisition company / agency of the Emergency Fleet Corporation (existed 1917-1936), of the United States Shipping Board (1916-1934), during the First World War (1914/1917-1918).

Emergency Fleet Corporation In 1917, the Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC) was established until 1936 by the United States Shipping Board (1916-1934) under General George Washington Goethals (1858-1925), (who supervised the construction of the Panama Canal 1904-1914, across the Isthmus of Panama), with Ferris as chief maritime architect. He also invented a system of steel strapping for fixing the frames of his ships.

Personal life Ferris married Lois Davis on August 25, 1912. They had two children, Nathaniel James and Theodore Louis Ferris.

Legacy In his 1953 obituary, published by the famous national daily "newspaper of record", The New York Times repeated an estimate that United States shipyards built over 1,800 ships to his designs.