Thomas Harris MacDonald

Thomas Harris "Chief" MacDonald (July 23, 1881 – April 7, 1957) was an American civil engineer and politician who supervised the construction of the Federal-aid highway system in the era before the creation of the Interstate Highway System. He served as chief of the Iowa State Highway Commission, chief of the Bureau of Public Roads from 1919 to 1939, and commissioner of the Bureau of Public Roads from 1939 to March 31, 1953, when he resigned shortly after President Dwight D. Eisenhower's first term began on January 20, 1953.

He directed national road policy for 34 years, serving under seven different U.S. Presidents. During his time, he supervised the creation of 3.5 million miles of highways. Later, he personally directed the creation of the Alaskan Highway, and helped the countries of Central America in building the Inter-American Highway. "[He] was a force as powerful as his counterpart at the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover," insists historian Stephen B. Goddard, "yet was virtually unknown to most Americans."