Governance

John Fritz was born in 1822 in Chester County, Pennsylvania. He was apprenticed as a blacksmith and became a wheelwright. He later supervised the building of an iron making furnace. In 1860 he became General Superintendent and Chief Engineer of the Bethlehem Iron Works. In 1864 he supervised the building of a Bessemer converter for the firm. In 1872, one year after its founding, he became a member of AIME and was elected President in 1894. He subsequently became President of AIME's sister organization, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) in 1895-1896. He was also elected Honorary Member of AIME, ASME, and their sister organization, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). After retiring in 1892 he became a trustee of Lehigh University and engaged in other civic work in the community. He died in 1913 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

National Museum of Industrial History Video on Fritz' Legacy

The John Fritz Medal for Scientific or Industrial Achievement