William Henry Webb

 William Henry Webb was born on June 19, 1816. He began shipbuilding in 1836. Webb inherited his father's shipyard, Webb & Allen, in 1840, renamed it William H. Webb, and turned it into America's most prolific shipyard, building 133 vessels between 1840 and 1865. Webb designed some of the fastest and most successful sailing packets and clipper ships ever built, and he also built some of the largest and most celebrated steamboats and steamships of his era, including the giant ironclad USS Dunderberg, in its day the world's longest wooden-hulled ship.

He constructed packets, clippers, side-wheelers, sailing vessels, steamships, wooden ships, and ironclads. He also built war vessels for Russia, Italy, and France. Webb closed his shipyard in 1869 because of the shift from wood to iron construction but maintained his shipping interests until 1872, when he retired because of ill health.

Mr. Webb decided to create a school to train future designers of ships and marine machinery. The State of New York granted a Charter to Webb’s Academy and Home for Shipbuilders on April 2, 1889.  Instruction started in 1894 the first class of eight men graduated in 1897. Tuition for the students, who were carefully selected on the basis of aptitude and lack of means, was free.

The length of the course was increased from three to four years in 1909. In 1933, authority was obtained from the University of the State of New York to award a Bachelor of Science degree. In 1947, Webb Institute moved to its current location in Glen Cove. The present name of Webb Institute was adopted in 1994.

In addition to creating the Webb Institute, he was a founding member of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers. Webb died in 1899.

 

Sources:

“William H. Webb.” Webb Institute, https://www.webb.edu/about-webb-institute/william-webb

“William Henry Webb.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Henry-Webb

“William Henry Webb (1816-1899) - Find a Grave...” Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8490643/william-henry-webb