William Henry Webb
| William Henry Webb | |
|---|---|
William Henry Webb
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| Born |
June 19, 1816 New York |
| Died | October 30, 1899 (aged 83) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Shipbuilder |
| Years active | Shipbuilding 1831-1869 Finance, philanthropy 1869-1899 |
William Henry Webb (19 June 1816 – 30 October 1899) was a 19th-century New York shipbuilder and philanthropist, who has been called America's first true naval architect.
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.
After the American Civil War, the U.S. shipbuilding industry experienced a prolonged slump, and Webb, having already made a considerable fortune, decided to close his shipyard and turn his energies toward philanthropic goals. He chaired an anti-corruption council, became a founding member of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, and established the Webb Academy and Home for Shipbuilders, which today is known as the Webb Institute.
William Henry Webb was born in New York on June 19, 1816. His father Isaac trained at the shipyard of New York shipbuilder Henry Eckford before opening his own shipyard, Isaac Webb & Co., near Corlears Hook in about 1818, later relocating to Stanton Street. Isaac eventually took on a partner and the firm was renamed Webb & Allen.
William was educated privately and at Columbia College Grammar School, demonstrating a natural aptitude for mathematics. He built his first boat, a small skiff, at the age of twelve, and in spite of his parents' wishes to the contrary, secured an apprenticeship at his father's shipyard at the age of fifteen. At twenty, he was awarded a subcontract for the New York-Liverpool packet ship Oxford, his first commercial contract.
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