Benedict Crowell

Benedict Crowell (October 21, 1869 – September 8, 1952) was a United States military officer and politician particularly influential in military organization during and following World War I. He was United States Assistant Secretary of War from 1917 to 1920.

Early life

Benedict Crowell was born on October 21, 1869, in Cleveland, Ohio, to Mary (née Benedict) and William Crowell.

He attended public schools and the Case School of Applied Science. He attended Yale University, where he was admitted to the Zeta Psi fraternity, graduating in 1891 with both a Bachelor of Philosophy and a M.A. in 1918.

Career

Crowell returned to Cleveland and became a chemist in the laboratories of Otis Steel Company. He was promoted to superintendent. He then organized the firm Crowell & Murray, metallurgists and chemists. He worked there as a mining engineer and chemist. He then formed Crowell & Little with Bascomb Little, a firm associated with testing reinforced concrete. The company disbanded after both men entered military service.

As the First World War loomed, he rose quickly through the ranks of the United States Army Reserve, being made first an honorary major on his entry in 1916, and eventually a brigadier general before being tapped for political positions. In 1916, he was appointed by Secretary of War Newton D. Baker to the Kernan Board, which investigated the manufacturing of munitions. At the outbreak of the war, Crowell was commissioned a major in ordnance and worked with the General Munitions Board to increase the flow of steel for the manufacturing of armaments. In 1917, he transferred to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and was put in charge of the Washington, D.C., office of the Panama Canal.