University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The Grainger College of Engineering

Harry Darby

[title]
To Harry Darby, professional engineer, industrialist, stockman, banker, soldier, statesman, U.S. senator, U.S. ambassador, humanitarian, and philanthropist, for his contributions, inspiration, and outstanding leadership in making the profession of engineering relevant to the business, industrial, economic, and civic aspects of modern American society.

Chairman of the Board, The Darby Corporation, Kansas City, Kansas

  • BS, Mechanical Engineering, 1917
  • Mechanical Engineer, 1929

After beginning his career as a boilermaker and structural ironworker, Mr. Darby organized The Darby Corporation in 1939. Under his guidance the company has become prominent in the fabrication of process equipment, railroad cars, steel bridges, towers, and other structures. He has developed other related and successful enterprises, but his exceptional achievements have been in public life.

In service to the nation, he was United States Senator from Kansas in 1949-1950 and Special Ambassador for the President of the United States to Venezuela in 1959. He was on the Republican National Committee and the Executive Committee for many years until 1964 and he led delegations from Kansas to the Republican National Conventions. He has been chairman of the Kansas State Highway Commission. His numerous other offices include trustee of the Theodore Roosevelt Association, chairman of the Eisenhower Presidential Library Commission, and member of the Advisory Committee of the National Rivers and Harbors Congress of Washington, D.C. He has received many honorary degrees and awards.

Current as of 1970.