Henry Thornton
Sir Henry Thornton (1871-1933) of the Great Eastern Railway
An American by birth (Indiana) and died in New York
1933 Obituary.[1]
Sir Henry Thornton was elected an Honorary Member of this Institution in 1922.
He was trained as an Engineer on the Pennsylvanian R.R., but quickly showed that his administrative powers were the greater and in consequence at the age of 40 became General Superintendent, Long Island Railway. Three years later he was invited to join the Great Eastern Railway (England) as General Manager. He had not been long in this Country before war broke out and his organising abilities were used to the full and culminated in his becoming Inspector General of Transport in the British Army with the Rank of Major General.
In 1919 he was created a K.B.E. for his services.
In 1922 he accepted the appointment of President and Chairman of the Canadian National Railways where he carried out extensive re-organisations resulting in enormous savings to the Railways.
Sir Henry was a great admirer of England and the English Railways and but for his prematurely early death after an operation at the age of 62 a few months after his retirement, would have returned to England.
He was born on March 14th, 1871 in Indiana and died on his birthday in New York in 1933.