John Lenthall (shipbuilder)
| John Lenthall | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 16 September 1807 Washington, D.C. |
| Died | 11 April 1882 (aged 74) Washington, D.C. |
| Resting place | Rock Creek Cemetery, Washington, D.C. |
| Nationality | United States |
| Occupation | Naval architect and shipbuilder |
| Years active | 1823–1871 |
| Employer | United States Department of the Navy |
John Lenthall (16 September 1807 – 11 April 1882) was an important American shipbuilder and naval architect. He was responsible for the construction and repair of United States Navy ships during the American Civil War (1861–1865), as well as in the years immediately before and after it. His career spanned the U.S. Navy's transition from sail to steam propulsion and from wooden ships to ironclads, and in retirement he participated in early planning for an eventual steel navy.
John Lenthall was born in Washington, D.C., on 16 September 1807, the son of John Lenthall (1762–1808) and Mary King Lenthall (1780–1852). His British-born father was an architect who had emigrated to the United States in 1793 and from 1803 worked as Clerk of the Works and Principal Surveyor at the United States Capitol Building in Washington under Architect of the Capitol Benjamin Henry Latrobe, serving as the building's construction superintendent. The senior John Lenthall died in a construction accident in the building's north wing in September 1808 when he prematurely removed props holding up the vaulted ceiling in what is now known as the Old Supreme Court Chamber and was crushed to death when the ceiling collapsed.
The younger John Lenthall began his career in 1823, when as a teenager he became an employee of the United States Department of the Navy at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., where his father had once worked as Superintendent of Shipwrights. He learned the trade of ship carpenter and received training in Europe, visiting shipyards in the United Kingdom, France, Denmark, and the Russian Empire,
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