Frederick E. Turneaure

Frederick Eugene Turneaure was born near Freeport, Illinois, on July 30, 1866.[2] He was raised on the family farm and attended public schools, studying algebra and geometry in his free time. Turneaure attended Freeport High School intermittently from 1882 to 1884, then taught a school. After receiving a scholarship for proficiency in mathematics, he matriculated at Cornell University, where he studied civil engineering.

Turneaure graduated in 1889,[2] and took a job with the Lehigh Valley Railroad. After a year, he joined the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad, where he worked until 1890.[3]

Washington University in St. Louis hired Turneaure as an instructor.[2] With Dean John Butler Johnson and Edge Moor Bridge Company engineer C. W. Bryan, Turneaure co-authored The Theory and Practice of Modern Framed Structures, later published in 1902. In 1892, Turneaure was offered a position as professor of the Department of Bridge and Sanitary Engineering at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He published Public Water-Supplies: Requirements, Resources, and the Construction of Works with Harry Luman Russell in 1901.

From 1900 to 1901, Turneaure also worked as the City Engineer of Madison, designing a septic sewage disposal plant and a pump system for artesian wells. Turneaure was then elected as an alderman of the 5th ward on the Madison Common Council. He was named Dean of Engineering in 1902.[3] From 1911 to 1929, he was a member of the state highway commission. He retired in 1937 and was named Dean Emeritus.[1][4]

Turneaure married Mary D. Stuart, who he met at Cornell, in 1891.[2] She frequently assisted Frederick with his projects. They had one son, Stewart.[3] Turneaure died in Madison on March 31, 1951.[1][4]

• Frederick E. Turneaure at Find a Grave