✎ About Olive Dennis

Olive Dennis was born on November 20, 1885 in United States of America, United States, is Civil Engineer. Olive Dennis was the first woman to become a member of the American Railway Engineering Association. One of the first women to obtain a Civil Engineering degree from Cornell University, she found it difficult to find a meaningful job after her graduation solely on the basis of her gender. She strived hard and eventually began working for the Baltimore and Ohio (B & O) Railroad. Since half of the railroad’s passengers were women, it was felt that a woman would be better suited to handle engineering upgrades in service. Thus Olive Dennis was made the railroad’s first "service engineer" and assigned the responsibility of improving passenger service. In a career spanning over three decades, she worked hard to make travelling as comfortable as possible for the passengers. A creative person with an innovative bent of mind, she implemented several new concepts including the railroad's famous blue and white Colonial dining car china. She also played a major role in making the seats more attractive and comfortable for the travelers. In addition, she suggested that there should be stewardesses, nurses, and other helpers on board to provide services when required. During the World War II, she served as a consultant for the federal Office of Defense Transportation.
Olive Dennis is a member of Inventors & Discoverers

💰 Net worth: Under Review

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Biography/Timeline

1908

She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Goucher College in 1908, and a master's degree in mathematics from Columbia University the following year. After teaching at Wisconsin, she decided to study civil engineering and studied at Cornell University. In 1920, she became only the second woman to obtain a Civil Engineering degree from Cornell. She was hired that year as a draftsman by the B & O Railroad to design bridges. The following year, the President of the railroad observed that, since half of the railway's passengers were women, the task of engineering upgrades in Service would best be handled by a female Engineer. Dennis became the first "service engineer" when the B. & O. created the position. Engineering Historian Kurt H. Debus described her as the first Service Engineer in America. She was also the first female member of the American Railway Engineering Association.

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American civil engineers Goucher College alumni Cornell University College of Engineering alumni 1957 deaths Women in technology 1885 births People from Baltimore American inventors Baltimore and Ohio Railroad people Women inventors Engineers from Pennsylvania Engineers from Maryland 20th-century American engineers American women engineers