Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History
Benson Lossing, Ed.

---

Waring, George Edwin 1833-

Sanitary engineer; born in Poundridge, N. Y., July 4, 1833; educated in public and private schools and took a course in agriculture and agricultural chemistry under Professor Mapes in 1853. He was

George Edwin Waring.

agricultural engineer of Central Park, New York City, in 1857; planned the present system of drainage there, and was drainage engineer of the park till the Civil War broke out, when he entered the Union army as major of the 39th New York Volunteers, and later served as colonel of the 4th Missouri Cavalry, till its close. After the epidemic of yellow fever in Memphis in 1878, he changed the sewerage system of [133] the city on an original plan, which was adopted in many cities of the United States. He was a member of the national board of health for many years; was appointed assistant engineer of New Orleans in 1894; and was commissioner of street cleaning in New York City in 1895-98. In 1898 he was sent to Cuba by the government at the head of a commission for the purpose of selecting camp sites on the island and making provision for sanitary improvements in Havana and other large cities. He spent several weeks on the island, and made a special study of conditions in Havana. On his return to New York City he was prostrated with yellow fever, and died Oct. 29, 1898. He published many works on drainage and sanitary science.