David Rodgers was a master shipfitter who is credited with revolutionizing the shipbuilding industry. Born 1865 in Carrickfergus, Ireland, he worked for noted shipyards in the Great Lakes area, San Francisco, and Vancouver, B. C. In Seattle Rodgers worked at the Puget Sound Naval Station and then Moran Brothers Company (later Seattle Construction & Drydock Company), overseeing the building of the battleship USS Nebraska. Rodgers managed the Skinner & Eddy Corporation shipyard in Seattle from the groundbreaking in 1916. Under Rodgers’ management, the crew broke production speed records for ship construction and completed more ships for the U. S. war effort than any other American shipyard. In 1918, Rodgers was invited to the White House to be thanked personally by Woodrow Wilson for his contribution to the war effort. Rodgers retired from the shipyards in 1919 due to health issues, and died in 1923 at 58 years old.
This image shows David Rodgers seated at a desk and working on blueprints. The photo was taken about 1918, near the end of his career.
Physical Description: 1 photographic print : b&w ; 7.5 x 9.5 in.
Additional Information: Digital copy of this item available thanks to funding from a 2016 Institute for Museum and Library Services grant. View the finding aid for this collection at https://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:80444/xv47827
Credit: MOHAI, Collection on David Rodgers, 2009.56.58
