Email This PageHoward Turner ’33, H ’77
Howard Turner ’33, H ’77, who served on the College’s Board of Managers in 1946, 1954–1964, and 
1968–1972, died on April 25. He was the College’s oldest living alumnus, who had served as class agent, reunion gift chair, and Alumni Council member.
A chemistry major, Turner graduated Phi Beta Kappa and was elected to Sigma Xi, the honorary society for scientific research. After obtaining a Ph.D. from MIT in 1936, he conducted research at E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, then later at Pittsburgh Consolidation Coal Co., and served as vice president of research and development at Jones & Laughlin Steel Co. In 1965, he became president of Turner Construction Co., started at the turn of the century by his uncle Henry Turner, class of 1893. During his tenure there, the company built Madison Square Garden, the John Fitzgerald Kennedy Library, and the College’s Dana and Hallowell dormitories and McCabe Library. Under Turner’s leadership, in which he was guided by the Quaker values of integrity and honesty, the company expanded into eight more American cities, surpassed $1.5 billion in sales, established the Turner School of Construction Management, and launched an international division with operations in four countries. His accolades include election to the National Academy of Engineering in 1973 for his contributions to the field and an honorary degree from the College in 1977.
