Hirai Seijirō (平井 晴二郎; November 13, 1856[1][2] – June 28, 1926[3]) was a Japanese railroad engineer.
Biography
editHirai was born inKanazawa, Japan.[2] He was chosen by Japan to be one of the first to study abroad and he attendedRensselaer Polytechnic Institute where he was a member of theDelta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. He received hisM.S. in civil engineering in 1878. He worked for the U.S. government before becoming a railway engineer in the Colonization Bureau forHokkaidō in 1881. In 1882 he was appointed chief of the railway for the Mining and Railway Bureau forHokkaidō. He later became the chief engineer of theOsaka Railway Company.[4]
He eventually joined the government of Japan, where he was advanced to the position of president of theImperial Government Railways in 1904.[5] When the railway became presided by a cabinet minister (Gotō Shinpei being the first minister) in 1908, he was appointed the vice president.[6]
On December 23, 1908, he became a member of theHouse of Peers as nominated byEmperor Meiji.[7] He was in the office until his death.[8]
In 1913 he was dispatched toChina and served as an adviser to the Chinese government until he returned to Japan in 1925.[3]
There is a dormitory named after him at Rensselaer.
References
edit- ^October 16 inJapanese calendar.
- ^abHanabusa, Yoshitarō; Yamamoto, Genta (1892).日本博士全伝 (in Japanese). Tokyo: Hakubunkan. p. 289. Retrieved2009-10-25.
- ^ab工事タイムス(PDF).Kōji Gahō (in Japanese).2. Tokyo: Kōjigahōsha: 44. August 1926. Retrieved2009-10-25.
- ^"Seijiro Hirai".Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Archived fromthe original on 2011-07-20. Retrieved2009-10-17.
- ^日本鉄道史 後編 p. 7
- ^日本鉄道史 後編 p. 20
- ^"Official Gazette (Kanpō)". December 24, 1908. p. 667.
- ^"Official Gazette (Kanpō)". July 13, 1926. p. 337.