Editing Warren A. Bechtel

{{short description|American businessman (1872–1933)}}
{{use mdy dates|date=September 2022}}
{{Infobox person
|name          = Warren A. Bechtel
|image         = Warren A. Bechtel (6 June 1933).jpg
|image_size    = 150px
|caption       = Bechtel (1933)
|birth_name    = Warren Augustine Bechtel
|birth_date    = {{birth date|1872|9|12}}
|birth_place   = [[Freeport, Illinois]], U.S.
|death_date    = {{Death date and age|1933|8|28|1872|9|12}}
|death_place   = [[Moscow]], Soviet Union
|resting_place = [[Mountain View Cemetery (Oakland, California)|Mountain View Cemetery]]<br />[[Oakland, California]], U.S.
|nationality   = <!-- do not use per [[WP:INFONAT]] -->
|occupation    = Businessman
|spouse        = {{marriage|Clara Alice West|1897}}
|children      = 4, including [[Stephen Bechtel Sr.|Stephen]] and [[Kenneth K. Bechtel|Kenneth]]
}}

'''Warren Augustine Bechtel''' (September 12, 1872 – August 28, 1933) was the founder of the [[Bechtel Corporation]], the 2nd largest construction company in [[the United States]] as of 2022.<ref>{{Cite web|title=ENR 2022 Top 400 Contractors 1-100|url=https://www.enr.com/toplists/2022-Top-400-Contractors-1-preview |access-date=2023-01-27|website=www.enr.com}}</ref>

== Early life ==
Warren Augustine Bechtel was born on September 12, 1872, on a stock farm in [[Freeport, Illinois]], as the fifth child of Elizabeth (Bentz) and John Moyer Bechtel in a family of two boys and five girls.<ref>[http://peabody.advantage-preservation.com/Viewer/?fn=peabody_gazette_usa_kansas_peabody_19150211_english_1 Obituary of John M. Bechtel; Peabody Gazette; February 11, 1915.]</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Sally|last=Denton|title=The Profiteers: Bechtel and the Men Who Built the World|publisher=Simon and Schuster|year=2016|isbn=978-1-4767-0647-4|page=19|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HDMTDgAAQBAJ&q=Elizabeth+(Bentz)+Bechtel&pg=PA410}}</ref><ref name="saltlake">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109458833/boulder-dam-chief-dies-suddenly-while/ |title=Boulder Dam Chief Dies Suddenly While Visiting in Moscow |date=1933-08-29 |newspaper=[[The Salt Lake Tribune]] |page=1 |access-date=2022-09-12 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}{{Open access}}</ref> In 1884, his family moved to Kansas.<ref name="saltlake" /> In 1891, Warren graduated from [[Peabody-Burns Junior/Senior High School|Peabody High School]] in [[Peabody, Kansas]].<ref>[http://peabody.advantage-preservation.com/Viewer/?fn=peabody_gazette_usa_kansas_peabody_19140521_english_2 List of Peabody High School Alumni from 1881 to 1913; The Gazette; May 21, 1914.]</ref> In 1897, Warren married Clara Alice West, from [[Aurora, Indiana]], whom he had met while she visited her uncle (E.F. Davison) in Peabody.<ref>[http://peabody.advantage-preservation.com/Viewer/?fn=the_peabody_gazette_usa_kansas_peabody_18970128_english_5 Marriage announcement of Bechtel-West; Peabody Gazette-Herald; January 28, 1897.]</ref>

== Career ==
In 1898, Bechtel and his wife moved from their farm near [[Peabody, Kansas]], to the [[Oklahoma Territory]] to [[history of rail transport in the United States|construct railroads]] with his own team of [[mule]]s.<ref name=Wolf2010>{{cite book |title=Big Dams and Other Dreams: The Six Companies Story |first=Donald E. |last=Wolf |page=22 |year=2010 |publisher=University of Oklahoma Press |isbn=978-0-8061-4162-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HKgHSrsqAosC&q=wattis+bechtel&pg=PA22 |access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref><ref name=Hiltzik2011 /> Bechtel moved his family frequently between construction sites around the [[Western United States]] for the next several years and eventually moved to [[Oakland, California]], in 1904, where he worked as the superintendent on the [[Western Pacific Railroad]] on its Richmond and Santa Fe lines.<ref name=Wolf2010 /><ref name="saltlake2">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109459719/boulder-dam-builder-dies-unexpectedly/ |title=Boulder Dam Builder Dies Unexpectedly |date=1933-08-23 |newspaper=[[The Salt Lake Tribune]] |page=2 |access-date=2022-09-12 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}{{Open access}}</ref> In 1906, W. A. Bechtel won his first subcontract to build part of the Oroville-to-Oakland section of the Western Pacific Railroad.<ref name=Wolf2010 /> The same year, he bought his own [[steam shovel]], becoming a pioneer of the new technology.<ref name="saltlake2" /><ref name=Krause2004>{{cite news |title=He Built It -- And They Came; Be Diligent: Bechtel's hard work powered his drive to build the frontier |first=Reinhardt |last=Krause |url=http://news.investors.com/management-leaders-in-success/091404-401236-he-built-it-and-they-came-be-diligent-bechtels-hard-work-powered-his-drive-to-build-the-frontier.htm |work=[[Investor's Business Daily]] |date=September 14, 2004 |access-date=15 April 2014}}</ref><ref name=Wright1973>{{cite news |title=Company, 75, Still Is Family-Owned; Director of Companies Corporate Profile: Family-Owned Bechtel Is a World Builder at the Age of 75 Steamshovel Pioneer |first=Robert |last=Wright |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/10/03/archives/company-75-still-is-familyowned-director-of-companies-corporate.html?ref=bechtelgroup |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=October 3, 1973 |access-date=14 April 2014}}</ref> He painted "W.A. Bechtel Co." on the side of the steam shovel, effectively establishing Bechtel as a company though it was not yet incorporated.<ref name=Hiltzik2011>{{cite book |title=Colossus: The Turbulent, Thrilling Saga of the Building of Hoover Dam |first=Michael |last=Hiltzik |page=167 |year=2011 |publisher=Free Press |isbn=978-1-4165-3217-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-qMYJX4_8aQC&q=bechtel+peabody+kansas&pg=PA167 |access-date=14 April 2014}}</ref>

Over the next 20 years, Bechtel built a sizable contracting business that specialized in railroad and highway building. One of Bechtel's earliest major contracts was grading the site of the [[Oroville, California]], depot for the [[Western Pacific Railroad]], then under construction. In 1919, Warren Bechtel and his partners (including his brother Arthur) built the [[Klamath Highway]] in California, and in 1921, Warren Bechtel partners won a contract to build the water tunnels for the Caribou Hydroelectric Facility in that state. In 1925, Warren, his sons Warren Jr, [[Stephen D. Bechtel, Sr.|Stephen]], [[Kenneth K. Bechtel|Kenneth]], and his brother Arthur (Art) joined to incorporate as W.A. Bechtel Company. In 1926, the new company won its first major contract, the [[Bowman Lake (California)|Bowman Lake]] dam in [[Nevada County, California]]. The firm would later partner with other companies to form [[Six Companies]] to help engineer the famous [[Hoover Dam]] over the [[Colorado River]], still considered the largest civil engineering project in US history.{{Citation needed|date=May 2018}} In 1930, Bechtel constructed a natural gas pipeline from [[Tracy, California]], to [[Crockett, California]], for [[Standard Oil]] and a pipeline from [[Milpitas, California]], to [[Tres Pinos, California]], for the [[Pacific Gas and Electric Company]].<ref name="saltlake2" /> In 1931, Bechtel replaced [[William Henry Wattis]] as president of the Six Companies.<ref name="sfexaminer">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109461034/overdose-of-insulin-kills-w-a/ |title=Overdose of Insulin Kills W. A. Bechtel |date=1933-08-29 |newspaper=[[San Francisco Examiner]] |page=9 |access-date=2022-09-13 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}{{Open access}}</ref>

== Death ==
[[File:Bechtel mausoleum, Mountain View Cemetery.jpg|thumb|right|Bechtel mausoleum at [[Mountain View Cemetery (Oakland, California)|Mountain View Cemetery]] in [[Oakland, California]].]]
Bechtel died of an accidental insulin overdose on a business visit to [[Moscow]], [[Soviet Union]], to inspect the [[Dnieprostroi Dam]], in 1933.<ref name="sfexaminer" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Warren Bechtel obituary |url=https://peabody.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?fn=the_peabody_gazette-herald_usa_kansas_peabody_19330907_english_2 |publisher=[[Peabody Gazette-Bulletin]] |date=September 7, 1933 }}</ref>  He died in the [[Hotel National, Moscow|Hotel National]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109461499/boulder-dam-builder-is-dead-in-moscow/ |title=Boulder Dam Builder is Dead in Moscow |date=1933-08-29 |newspaper=The World-Herald |location=[[Omaha, Nebraska]] |page=7 |access-date=2022-09-13 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}{{Open access}}</ref> He was buried at [[Mountain View Cemetery (Oakland, California)|Mountain View Cemetery]] in [[Oakland, California]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109457400/bechtel-18-sep-1933-the-los-angeles/ |title=Bechtel |date=1933-09-18 |newspaper=[[The Los Angeles Times]] |page=12 |access-date=2022-09-12 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}{{Open access}}</ref>

== Legacy ==
His son, [[Stephen D. Bechtel Sr.]], took over the firm upon his father's death.  The [[Bechtel Corporation]] is still owned and operated by the Bechtel family. Its current CEO is [[Brendan Bechtel]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Brendan Bechtel, Chairman and CEO|publisher=Bechtel|url=https://www.bechtel.com/about-us/leadership/brendan-bechtel}}</ref>

In 1997, Warren was inducted into the Kansas Business Hall of Fame.<ref>{{cite web |title=Former Peabodyite Warran Bechtel Into Business Hall of Fame |url=https://peabody.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?fn=gazette_bulletin_usa_kansas_peabody_19970206_english_1 |publisher=[[Peabody Gazette-Bulletin]] |date=February 6, 1997 }}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://www.bechtel.com/about-us/history/ Bechtel Corporation history]
* [http://peabody.advantage-preservation.com/Viewer/?fn=the_peabody_gazette-herald_usa_kansas_peabody_19331012_english_5 Obituary of Warren A. Bechtel]; Peabody Gazette-Herald; October 12, 1933.
* [http://peabody.advantage-preservation.com/Viewer/?fn=the_peabody_gazette-herald_usa_kansas_peabody_19460620_english_4 Obituary of Arthur V. Bechtel]; Peabody Gazette-Herald; June 20, 1946. Some history about the involvement of his brother in the Bechtel company.
* [https://www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam/museum/clippings/clipart73.pdf ''Six Companies, Now Single Unit, Ready to Sign Contract for Hoover Dam'']; newspaper article; 1931, includes photo of W.A. Bechtel Sr, S.D. Bechtel, K.K. Bechtel.

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bechtel, Warren A.}}
[[Category:1872 births]]
[[Category:1933 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Freeport, Illinois]]
[[Category:People from Peabody, Kansas]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from the San Francisco Bay Area]]
[[Category:Bechtel people]]
[[Category:American company founders]]
[[Category:American construction businesspeople]]
[[Category:20th-century American businesspeople]]
[[Category:Burials at Mountain View Cemetery (Oakland, California)]]
[[Category:Accidental deaths in the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Kansas Business Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Bechtel family]]