The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Koester, Frank

KOESTER, kė'stẽr, Frank, German-American engineer and author: b. Sterkrade, Germany, 28 Aug. 1876. After 10 years of theoretical training and practical engineering and municipal experience in Germany, including four years of shop and field practice, he came to the United States in 1902. He was connected with the construction of the New York subway system and other large engineering undertakings in the United States, South America, Alaska and the Philippines. A considerable part of his practice has been devoted to the design, construction and operation of electric generating stations. Recognizing the great field in modern city planning he made a special study of modern methods in this field, taking up the city planning courses at Charlottenburg College, Germany. He was a delegate to the City Planning Congress at Düsseldorf, Germany, in 1912, and to the International Congress of City Planning and City Maintenance held at Ghent, Belgium, in 1913, in both of which he made addresses. He has published ‘Steam Electric Power Plants’ (New York and London 1908); ‘Hydro-electric Developments and Engineering’ (ib. 1909); ‘The Price of Inefficiency’ (New York 1913); ‘Electricity for the Farm and Home’ (ib. 1913); ‘Modern City Planning and Maintenance’ (New York and London 1914); ‘Secrets of German Progress’ (New York 1915).