John W. Lieb
(1860-1929) American electrical engineer, president of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers from 1904 to 1905
John William Lieb (February 12, 1860, in Newark, New Jersey – November 1, 1929, in New Rochelle, New York) was an American electrical engineer for the Edison Electric Light Company. Lieb was president of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers from 1904 to 1905. He received the IEEE Edison Medal for "the development and operation of electric central stations for illumination and power."
Early life
John Lieb was born on February 12, 1860, in Newark New Jersey. His father was a leather worker. He went to the local public school, then went to the private school, Newark Academy, for high school. During the summer of 1875, Lieb went to the prep school for Stevens Institute of Technology. The following fall Lieb enrolled in Stevens as a Mechanical engineer.
Stevens
Lieb entered college at a time when there were new waves happening in the electrical industry. Even though Lieb was studying mechanical engineering, he became interested in electricity. In 1877, Lieb and some classmate helped install a Brush arc light system on the Coney Island Pier.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “John W. Lieb” as (1860-1929) American electrical engineer, president of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers from 1904 to 1905. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the people & ideas register because the source frames it as (1860-1929) American electrical engineer, president of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers from 1904 to 1905. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 31, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6262375. VIAF identifies the subject as 89156888. The Library of Congress control number is no2011028297. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1860, 1929, 1904 and 1905.
Public reputation and documentary evidence do not always develop together; absence from a summary is not evidence of historical absence. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.
- Establishing names and roles
- Building a first chronology
- Locating cited institutions
Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “John W. Lieb”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow John W. Lieb primary sources, John W. Lieb archive and John research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “John W. Lieb”?
- Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
- How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “John W. Lieb” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.