GineersNow Engineering Magazine November 2016 Issue No 009

CIVIL
ENGINEERS
WHO
SHAPED THE
CONSTRUCTION
INDUSTRY OF
TODAY
From sturdy bridges to
enormous skyscrapers,
all these are here in
our modern world
thanks to the efforts
of civil engineers.
Civil engineering has
been one of the oldest
professions in the
world, their roots date
back to between 4000
and 2000 BC in Ancient
Egypt, the Indus Valley
Civilization, as well
as Mesopotamia,
when nomadic people
decided to settle and
build permanent homes
as their shelter.
Many civil engineers
have revolutionized
the world with their
creations, and though
a lot of people take
these creations for
granted, everyone
should recognize that
almost every modern
day structure you see
today are all thanks
to the genius of these
engineers.
Here are some civil
engineers who shaped
the construction
industry of today.
John Smeaton
1724 – 1792 John
Smeaton was an English
civil engineer (the
first self-proclaimed
civil engineer) who
was responsible
for the design of
numerous bridges,
canals, harbours as
well as lighthouses.
He is commonly
called as the Father
of Civil Engineering.
Thanks to his research
and innovations on
waterwheels and
windmills, he was
able to contribute to
the efficiency of the
industrial revolution.
Smeaton was also a
mechanical engineer
and a well-known
physicist.
Photo by Wikimedia
Benjamin Wright
1770 – 1842 Benjamin
Wright was an American
civil engineer who was
the chief engineer of
the Erie Canal and the
Chesapeake and Ohio
Canal. He started his
career as a surveyor and
planner before being the
chief engineer of these
canals’ construction.
In the year 1969, the
American Society of
Civil Engineers declared
Wright as the "Father
of American Civil
Engineering". He had
9 children, wherein 5
of them followed his
footsteps and became
civil engineers as well.
Photo by
ConnecticutHistory
Squire Whipple
1804 – 1888 Squire
Whipple was a civil
engineer who was
born in Hardwick,
Massachusetts, USA.
He has become wellknown
as the Father of
iron bridge building in
America. His designs
have been used across
the globe, including
Benjamin Wright’s Erie
Canal. His patents are
as follows
U.S. Patent 2,064 –
Bowstring iron-bridge
truss (1841)
U.S. Patent 134,338 –
Lift draw bridge
Photo by
Oneidacountyhistory
Isambard Kingdom
Brunel
1806 – 1859 Isambard
Kingdom Brunel, an
English mechanical and
civil engineer, has been
considered to be one
of the most ingenious
and prolific figures in
engineering history",
"one of the 19th
century engineering
giants", and "one of the
greatest figures of the
Industrial Revolution,
[who] changed the face
of the English landscape
with his groundbreaking
designs and ingenious
constructions". He
built dockyards, the
Great Western Railway,
numerous steamships
which include the
first propeller-driven
transatlantic steamship,
and a number of
important bridges and
tunnels. His designs
have revolutionized
public transport as well
as modern engineering.
In 2002, a public poll
named Brunel the
second greatest Briton.
Photo by PrimaryFacts
66
NOVEMBER 2016
Mining Engineering and Its Importance