Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 01.djvu/319

 BILLINGS.

BILLINGS.

California, by resolution, requested President Johnson to give him a cabinet position. He was among the founders of the College of California, and in 1866 was urged to take its presidency. He returned east and settled at Woodstock, where he made his estate the most beautiful home in Vermont. Mr. Billings was one of the first to encourage the building of an overland railroad to California, and his counsel was sought by con- gressional committees investigating the subject. He became an active participant in building the Northern Pacific railroad and rendered val- uable service in re-organizing the road after the failure of Jay Cooke in 1873. He was for some years president of the company and organized the land department of the road. He retired from the presidency in 1881, but continued in the board of directors for some years. He was one of the original promoters of the enterprise to build a ship-canal across the isthmus by the way of Lake Nicaragua, and was chairman of the ex- ecutive committee of the Maritime canal company of Nicaragua, and a director in the construction company. He was also a director in the Farmers' loan and trust company, the American exchange bank, the Delaware and Hudson canal company, and the Manhattan life insurance company of New York, and of the Rutland (Vermont) Valley, Connecticut river and Passumpsic railroads; a trustee of the Presbyterian hospital, trustee of the brick church, Fifth avenue, N. Y., a member of the New York chamber of commerce and of various clubs, including the Union league, Cen- tury, Lawyers' and Down Town association. Mr. Billings' gifts to the University of Vermont amounted to a quarter of a million dollars, and included the Billings library building, with an endowment fund of §50,000, and the library of G. P. Marsh, consisting of about 12,000 volumes. He also gave §00,000 to D. L. Moody's Mount Hermon school for boys, in memory of his son Ehrick, and §50,000 to Amherst college to endow a professorship in memory of his son Parmly, who was graduated there. He was married in 1862 to Julia, daughter of Dr. Eleazar Parmly, of New York city. Mr. Billings died at Wood- stock, Vt., Sept. 30, 1890.

BILLINGS, George Herric, metallurgist, was born at Taunton, Mass., Feb. 8, 1845. In 1847 his parents removed to Ohio, and thence a few years later to Pittsburg, Pa., where he attended school. In 1860 he was sent by his father to Calhoun, Ky., where he took charge of the machinery and acted as clerk in an oil property in which his father was interested. The out- break of the civil war caused a cessation in the business and he returned to Pittsburg, where he volunteered as a private in the 45th Pennsylvania regiment. Being under the

acceptable age he was not enrolled, and secured employment in an iron mill. With his earnings he purchased books on natural philosophy and physics, which he studied with interest, testing his knowledge by chemical experiments. In 1863 he went to Boston, where he secured a posi- tion in one of the iron foundries, devoting, as be- fore, his spare time to study, and attending an evening draught- ing school. He then attended the free course in chemistry given by the Lowell in- stitute at the Massach u s e 1 1 s institute of tech- nology, and with the facilities offered there for practice he gained a practical knowledge which secured for him a position as metallurgical chemist with the Norway iron and steel com- pany. While occupying this position he devised a process of manufacturing compressed steel shafting, and also devoted much time and study to investigating the influence of the various metals alloyed with iron. Mr. BiUings was elected a member of the American institute of mining engineers, which is indebted to him for many valuable papers contributed to its "' trans- actions."

BILLINGS, John Shaw, librarian, was born in Switzerland coimty, lud., April 12, 1838. He was graduated from Miami university in 1857, receiving an A.M. in 1860. He took the degree of M.D. from the Ohio medical college in 1860, and in November of the following year entered the U. S. army as acting assistant surgeon, in charge of hospitals at the national capital. In March, 1863, he joined the 5th army coi'ps and was on duty at the battles of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. He was detailed to hospital duty in New York harbor in October, 1863. and in February, 1864, became medical inspector of the army of the Potomac. He was on duty in the surgeon-general's office at Washington from December, 1864. His promotions during his field service were assistant surgeon and brevet cap- tain. In 1865 he was brevetted major and Lieu- tenant-colonel, and in 1876 was promoted surgeon U. S. army. He was on special duty with the treasury department in 1870, in connection with the re-organization of the Marine hospital service. He was vice-president of the national board of