Norwich bulletin., 1911-02-13
RANKED HIGH As
 AUTHORITY ON HYDRAULICS
Jehn [. Tanning, Formerly Of This
 City, Died from pfsumonia.

AUTHORITY ON HYDRAULICS Jehn |. Tanning, ferm.rIy of This
 City, Died frem pneumenia.
 In regard to the death of John I. the Minneapolis Journal says:
 Col John Thomas Planning, resi- dent of Minneapolis for the last 2b years and one of the most distinguish ed members of the engineering profes- sion Of this country, had been III about ten days with pneumonta. The attack was not at first dangerous but complications followed, and though . man of remarkable strength and vt- tallty he was unable at last to with stand the attack of the disease: The funeral was held Tuesday at 2.s0 from the residence of T. A. Jan1ieson, 1907 Dupont avenue 8.
 Of an old New England family, dat ing back to 1852, when Edmund Gil- bert Tanning settled in Connecticut, and on the other side to 1636. when Lieut.. Thomas Tracy settled in the same state. Colonel Tanning was born at Norwich, Conn.,, December 31. 1887. After passing through the public and normal schools at Norwich he studied architecture and engineering. In those days there was little specialization. and Colonel Tanning fitted himself for practice in what are now several all most distinct professions, and through his long professional life proved him. self man of remarkably diversified talents. His was one of the few en- gineering offices of the present time where strictly architectural work was planned when 1t came up in connec- tion with purely engineering practice.
 Colonel Earnings entrance into ac- tive work was interrupted by the civil war. He enlisted in the Third Con- necticut volunteer infantry and served throughout the war. Returning to Norwich, he opened an office and for about twenty years practiced his pro- In Demand as Export With the progress of the years Col onel Tanning came more and more to devote himself to hydraulic engineer ing and was called upon as an expert to report on the water supply for New York city, Brooklyn, and other eastern cities. He was also frequently in de- mand as an expert witness in water and drainage cases and was called in consultation to distant points in the country. One of these calls brought him to Minneapolis in 1885. He had commission to report on the power and his impressions of the western country and it's opportunities and other considerations, led him the next year to move to Minneapolis.
 Since coming here. Colonel Tanning had devoted himself largely to hy- druiic engineering. supervising, plan ming or acting as consulting engineer in many of the larger engineering op- erations in the west He had charge of the development of the water pow CT on the Big Hole river in Montana, at Great Falls and Helena, Mont, and at Spokane, and has been consulting engineer for the Great Northern and Minneapolis Union railways for years. as well as being called in consuta- ton by many other railroads through out the country.
 Work in Minneapolis.
 Tn Minneapolis the present city water pumping plant the Northeast stands as a model. His most recent work has been the design and super vision of the construction of the water power plant of the Great Northern road near it's Cascade tunnel. a plant which furnished electrical energy for the operation of all Great Northern trains through the tunnel. The diff cultfes in connection with this plant at first seemed unsurmountable, but were overcome by the highest grade of engineering talent. The plant cost over $1,000,0O0
 Colonel Earnings powers of inven- tion were remarkable. In addition to constantly introducing original meth odS in carrying out engineering pro- jects, often amounting to important inventions in themselves, he patented a slow burning building construction system steam pumping engine, steam boilers. turbines, and water valves, and invented and constructed the first wood-stave pipes, now so generally used as conduits in water supply, irrigation and power projects. In later years he has been called in l 70 tin, in ha construction nf a large number of water supply and pu- rification systems, including Des Moines, Omaha, Birmingham, Ala. and other places. He was consulted from time to time, officially and unoficially, regarding the Minneapolis water sup ply and pointed out, in the eighties, the logical sites for power houses and reservoir which were subsequently, adopted in the main.
 In 1900 the city council employed Colonel Tanning and William de la Barre to outline the best method for the further development of the Minne- apolis water supply system. and they reported favoring the use of the Mis- sissippi river water and purification plan on the general lines since adopt ed.
 Author of Note.
 midst of an exceptionally busy life to write many papers on professional subjects and deliver lectures from time to time. His book, A Treatise on Hydraulic and Water Supply En- gineering. written years ago, became the standard authority on the subject and ran through many editions At the time of his death he was first vice president of the American Society of Civil Engineers and former president of the American Waterworks associa- tion, fellow of the American Asso- ciation for the Advancement of Sci. ence. honorary member of the New England Waterworks association, a member of the Franklin institute and other scientific and technical organ izations. Many years ago he joined the Somerset Masonic lodge at Nor wich. Conn.,, lodge established in 1795.
 treme modesty. Although a high au-