William D. Middleton was a 1950 civil engineering graduate from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a professional engineer. He retired from the U.S. Navy s Civil Engineer Corps as a commander in 1979, and then served until 1993 on the general faculty and as the chief facilities officer at the University of Virginia. His published work includes nearly 500 articles for magazines and newspapers in Europe, the United States, and Asia and 15 books, among them Landmarks on the Iron Road and South Shore: The Last Interurban, both published by Indiana University Press.