William Henry Breithaupt
Inducted In
1972
William Henry Breithaupt, an extremely accomplished civil engineer, was a builder of railway bridges on this continent and the author of many technical papers.
Born in Buffalo in 1857 to Louis and Catherine Breithaupt (later citizens of Berlin), he took up residence here in 1900 and promoted the family interests – the Berlin and Waterloo Railway, and the Berlin Gas Works – and built a rail line to Bridgeport. First chairman of the City Planning Commission, he brought in a famous New York town planning expert for consultation. He visited the Carnegie Foundation in New York, successfully seeking funds for the Berlin Library on three occasions.
Breithaupt served as president of the Ontario Historical Society, was first president of the Waterloo Historical Society and a founder of the Waterloo County Pioneers’ Memorial Association that erected the Pioneers’ Memorial Tower near Preston. The first to propose flood control, Breithaupt also pioneered Grand River Conservation.