| Royal George Finch | |
| Birth Date: | 17 August 1884 |
| Birth Place: | Eagle Bridge, New York, US |
| Death Place: | Albany, New York, US |
| Term: | 1925 to 1926 |
| Parents: | George Nelson Finch Helen Hunt |
Royal George Finch (August 17, 1884 in Eagle Bridge, New York – March 4, 1959 in Albany, New York) was an American civil engineer and politician from New York. He was the last New York State Engineer and Surveyor, in office from 1925 to 1926.[1] He was a member of the New York State licensing board for engineers.[2]
He was born on August 17, 1884, in Eagle Bridge, New York to George Nelson Finch and Helen (Hunt) Finch.[3] [1]
He attended the public schools of Granville, New York and later on graduated in 1906 from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute,[3] Troy NY.
On October 19, 1909, he married Jessie Lewis Weller. He had one daughter, Mary Lewis Finch, born June 9, 1912, in Albany, New York
Mr. Finch in 1908 joined what was then the New York Department of Engineering and was subsequently promoted to chief clerk of the New York State Engineer and Surveyor office. In 1919 was appointed deputy state engineer to replace William B. Landreth.[4]
He was the Chief Engineer for a number of bridges in NY State, including the Troy-Cohoes Bridge,[5] also known as the 112th Street Bridge, Lansingburgh neighborhood of Troy built in 1922, demolished in 1995 and rebuilt in 1996.
In 1922 he went to work for Norton Stone and Lime in Cobleskill, New York.[6]
He was State Engineer and Surveyor from 1925 to 1926, elected on the Republican ticket in 1924.[1] In 1925, he published The Story of the New York State Canals: Historical and Commercial Information.[7] By 1926 he was a member of the New York State Water Power Commission.[8]
In 1926, Democratic governor Al Smith undertook a major re-organisation of the State administration and the Engineer and Surveyor's Department was abolished, and the duties taken over by the New York State Department of Public Works.
In 1929 he was awarded the Arthur M. Wellington prize for his pamphlet on the Story of the New York State Barge Canal and Its Operation.[9]
On April 30, 1930, he was appointed to the Interoceanic Canal Board.[10]
In November 1950 he was appointed, as the RPI Board of Trustees representative, to "The RPI Athletic Council," a ten-man council created in recognition of the important part played by athletics in the training of the well-rounded engineer. [11], Troy, New York
He died on March 4, 1959, in Albany, New York.