author
George R. Chatburn
1863–1940
An early highway engineer and teacher, he wrote practical, accessible books that helped readers understand how roads shaped modern life. His work reflects a moment when America’s transportation system was rapidly changing.
1 Audiobook
Highways and Highway Transportation
by George R. Chatburn
About the author
Born in Magnolia, Iowa, on December 24, 1863, George R. Chatburn later built his career in Lincoln, Nebraska. Sources identify him as a nonfiction writer and as a professor of applied mechanics and machine design at the University of Nebraska, where he also lectured on highway engineering.
Chatburn is best known for Highways and Highway Transportation (1923). In the book’s opening pages, he presents it as a broad, readable survey rather than a narrowly technical treatise, suggesting he wanted to make the history and importance of roads understandable to general readers as well as specialists.
His other known work includes Highway Engineering, Rural Roads and Pavements (1921), which fits with his long focus on transportation infrastructure. He died in Lincoln, Nebraska, on January 30, 1940.