1-157-650 - Oxford Science Archive/Heritage Images

Washington Augustus Roebling, American civil engineer, 1883. Roebling (1837-1926) built the Brooklyn Suspension Bridge which had been designed by his father John Augustus Roebling (1806-1869). The bridge, spanning the East River in New York, was heralded as one of the most important construction projects of the 19th century. When completed in 1883 it was the longest suspension bridge in the world. John Roebling died of tetanus in 1869 after his foot was crushed in an accident during construction. Washington took over as chief engineer, and saw the project to its successful conclusion with the assistance of his wife Emily after Washington himself was incapacitated by an attack of the bends suffered while working below the river bed. From Harper's New Monthly Magazine. [New York, May 1883].