William Rutherford Mead (1846 – 1928) was an American engineer, a part of the McKim, Mead, and White firm.
He was born in Brattleboro, Vermont. His sister, Elinor, later married novelist William Dean Howells, and his younger brother Larkin Goldsmith Mead became a sculptor. William graduated from Amherst College in 1867, and later studied under Russell Sturgis in New York City. In 1872 he collaborated with Charles Follen McKim and in 1879 they were joined by Stanford White to form McKim, Mead, and White. In 1883, Mead married Olga Kilyeni (c1850-1936) in Budapest, Hungary. In 1902, King Victor Emmanuel conferred on Mead the decoration of Knight Commander of the Crown of Italy for his pioneer work in introducing the Roman and Italian Renaissance architectural style in America. In 1902, Amherst College conferred upon Mead the honorary degree of LL.D. In 1909, he received a degree of M.S. from Norwich University in Vermont. William and Olga lived in Rome, Italy, where he was the President of the American Academy in Rome until his death in 1928. Olga died in 1936 in New York City, and she gave her estate to Amherst College. The money was used to build the Mead Art Building, which was designed by James Kellum Smith of McKim, Mead and White. The building was completed in 1949.
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Great Works[1]
- American Academy in Rome, Rome, Italy, 1913
- Boston Public Library, Boston, Massachusetts, 1887 to 1895
- Isaac Bell House, Newport, Rhode Island, 1881 to 1883
- Morgan Library, New York City, New York, 1906
- New York Herald Building, New York City, 1894
- New York Racquet Club, New York City, 1916 to 1919
- Newport Casino, Newport, Rhode Island, 1879 to 1880
- Pennsylvania Station, New York City, 1910
- Rhode Island State House, Providence, Rhode Island, 1895 to 1903
- University Club of New York, New York City, 1900
- W. G. Low House, Bristol, Rhode Island, 1887
Archive
His papers are archived at the Amherst College Archives & Special Collections
