John C. Gotwals

Major John C. Gotwals, 1926

John Carl Gotwals (born Yerkes, Pennsylvania, November 4, 1884; died Richmond Heights, Missouri, January 15, 1946) was an American military engineer. His long career in the Corps of Engineers included a term (1930-1934) as the Engineer Commissioner of the District of Columbia.

Early life

Gotwals was the son of Abraham G. Gotwals (1850-1911) and Mary Carroll Logan Gotwals (1859-1943); he had at least four siblings, three of whom were older. He graduated from Pennsylvania State University in 1906 with a degree in civil engineering. In 1913 he joined the army as a probationary second lieutenant; from 1915 to 1917 he was a student at the army Engineers school in Washington.

Career

In 1917 Gotwals was sent to France in command of a special unit of students from the Washington, D.C. Bliss School of Electricity, tasked with teaching the use of searchlights. Gotwals was raised to the rank of lieutenant colonel and was in 1922 awarded a Distinguished Service Medal for his work there. After World War I he accepted a reduction in rank to major to remain in active service. He served on the Alaska Engineering Commission and the Alaska Road Commission, serving as president of the later for a time in 1920. In 1922 he was called in to investigate the Knickerbocker Theatre roof collapse in Washington, DC. He also served in engineering posts in Mississippi and, from 1924 to 1930, in St. Louis, Missouri.

On July 21, 1930 he was appointed as the Corps of Engineers representative on the three-person Board of Commissioners in charge of the District of Columbia; he served until August 22, 1934. He also served on the district's Public Utilities Commission. Gotwals was ill for much of his term and was replaced in 1934 due to his retirement for health reasons. He was raised again to the rank of lieutenant colonel upon his retirement.

Personal life

Gotwals married Muriel Clemmons (1900-1989) on November 10, 1927.