John Frank Stevens (April 25, 1853 – June 2, 1943) was an American civil engineer who built the Great Northern Railway in the United States and was chief engineer on the Panama Canal between 1905 and 1907. He also led the commission of American railway experts to Russia and was later President of the Interallied Technical Board.

John Frank Stevens was an American civil engineer and railroad executive who, as chief engineer of the Panama Canal from late 1905 to April 1907, laid the basis for that project’s successful completion.

Jan 6, 2000 · When Roosevelt asked him to become the second chief engineer of the Panama Canal in 1905, Stevens, then 52, accepted on the conditions that he was to "have a free hand in all matters" and would stay only until the canal's success or failure was certain, to which Roosevelt agreed.

Stevens oversaw the construction of Hill's Great Northern Railway until 1905, when he was picked to be chief engineer for the Panama Canal project. Arriving in Panama, he found what he called "about as discouraging a proposition as was ever presented to a construction engineer."

John Stevens was appointed chief engineer of the Panama Canal Project in 1905 based on his accomplishments — some might call them feats — at James J. Hill's Great Northern Railway.

John Stevens was appointed Chief Engineer of the Panama Canal Project in 1905 based on his accomplishments at the Great Northern Railway. The fearless Maine native had helped expand...

He was presented the John Fritz Gold Medal on March 23, 1925, for "great achievements as a civil engineer, particularly in planning and organizing for the construction of the Panama Canal; as a builder of railroads, and as administration of the Chinese Eastern and Siberian Railways."

John Frank Stevens, William C Gorgas and George Washington Goethals 1914 (opened) The building of the 50-mile-long Panama Canal was a collosal project, joining together the Pacific and Atlantic oceans by digging away 240 million metric tons of earth through the Isthmus of Panama.

John Frank Stevens (April 25, 1853 – June 2, 1943) was an American civil engineer who built the Great Northern Railway in the United States and was chief engineer on the Panama Canal between 1905 and 1907. He also led the commission of American railway experts to Russia and was later President of the Interallied Technical Board.

John F Stevens chief engineer on the Panama Canal between 1905 and 1907. Wikipedia notes: Stevens' primary achievement in Panama was to build the infrastructure needed for the completion of the canal.