NYSSPE’s Engineer of the week features Washington Augustus Roebling who was an American civil engineer, born on May 26th, 1837 in Saxonburg, Pennsylvania. He was best known for his involvement in the Brooklyn Bridge. Washington Roebling is the son of John A. Roebling who initially designed the bridge. He pursued an education at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, graduating in 1860 as a civil engineer.
Washington Roebling worked with his father on many bridges. After a short research based trip to Europe, he returned to the US and became the assistant engineer on the Brooklyn Bridge. He was named chief engineer shortly after his father’s death in 1869. Roebling was able to develop and advance many bridge building techniques while in this position however, he eventually became very sick from working in the large caissons that serve as the bridge towers. This sickness prohibited him from continuing to visit the bridge site.
In his later years, Roebling and his wife lived in Troy, NY while their son John A. Roebling, II, also attended the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Roebling passed away in 1926 at the age of 89. Many of the items left behind from his work are displayed at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York.
Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Roebling
Photo Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Roebling#/media/File:Brooklyn_Museum_-_Portrait_of_Washington_A._Roebling_-_Th%C3%A9obald_Chartran.jpg
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