Ralph Modjeski
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Ralph Modjeski | |
---|---|
Born | Rudolf Modrzejewski January 27, 1861 |
Died | June 26, 1940 Los Angeles, California, United States | (aged 79)
Occupation | Civil engineer |
Awards | Howard N. Potts Medal (1914) Franklin Medal (1921) John Fritz Medal (1930) |
Ralph Modjeski (born Rudolf Modrzejewski; January 27, 1861 – June 26, 1940) was a Polish-American civil engineer who achieved prominence as "America's greatest bridge builder."
He pioneered the use of
Formative years and family
Modjeski was born in
He was a classmate of Ignacy Jan Paderewski in Poland and was a formidable pianist in his own right.
The son returned to Europe to study at l'Ecole des Ponts et Chaussées (the School of Bridges and Roads) in
In 1885, he graduated from the School of Bridges and Roads at the top of his class. That same year, he married a cousin Felicie Benda; the couple had three children. They divorced in 1931 after a sixteen-year-long separation. That same year, the now seventy-year-old Modjeski married Virginia Mary Giblyn.
Career
After completing his academic training, Modjeski returned to America to begin his career, working first under the "father of American bridge-building,"
Modjeski's first project as chief engineer was the railroad bridge across the Mississippi River at Rock Island, Illinois. During his career, he served as chief or consulting engineer on dozens of bridges across the United States.
He took over the mis-designed Quebec Bridge after the 1907 disaster that killed seventy-five workers, and succeeded in creating the longest truss span in the world (though a construction accident killed another thirteen workers). It is still the longest cantilever bridge in the world.
Modjeski was the recipient of numerous awards and honorary degrees. He received a doctorate in engineering from
Death
He died June 26, 1940, in
Notable projects
- Chief Engineer
- Government Bridge (1896)
- Thebes Bridge (1905)
- Bridge 5.1(all 1906–08)
- Quebec Bridge (1907-1917)
- McKinley Bridge (1910)
- Celilo Bridge (1910)
- Crooked River Railroad Bridge (1911)
- Broadway Bridge (Portland, Oregon) (1913)
- Metropolis Bridge (1914)
- Harahan Bridge (1916)
- Metropolis Bridge (1917)
- Mears Memorial Bridge (1923)
- Mid-Hudson Bridge aka Franklin Delano Roosevelt Mid-Hudson Bridge (1930)
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Camden, New Jersey(1926)
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Palmyra, New Jersey) (1929)
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) (1931)
- I-74 Bridge aka the Moline to Bettendorf Veterans Memorial Bridge 1933
- Huey P. Long Bridge (1935)
- Blue Water Bridge (Port Huron, Michigan and Point Edward, Ontario, 1938)
- Consulting Engineer
- Manhattan Bridge (1909)
- Market Street Bridge (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania)(1926)
- Ambassador Bridge (Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario, 1929)
- George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge (1929)
- McPhaul Suspension Bridge (1929)
- San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge (1936)
See also
- Belle Silveira
- List of Poles
Further reading
- Glomb, Jozef (2002). A man who spanned two eras: The story of bridge engineer Ralph Modjeski. Peter J. Obst (trans.). Philadelphia: Kosciuszko Foundation. ISBN 978-0-917004-25-4.
References
- ^ Durand, W.F. "Biographical Memoir of Ralph Modjeski" (PDF). National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Biographical Memoirs. XXIII (10th memoir). Retrieved 7 November 2023.
- ^ "History". Modjeski and Masters. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ^ "Ralph Modjeski". www.nasonline.org. Retrieved 2023-08-10.
- ^ "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved 2023-08-10.
- ^ Masters, Frank (1941). "Memoir of Ralph Modjeski". Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers. 105 (1624).
External links
- BRIDGING URBAN AMERICA, A STORY OF RALPH MODJESKI, a documentary film
- Ralph Modjeski[permanent dead link] on the ASCE History and Heritage of Civil Engineering website
- Ralph Modjeski at Structurae
- Cultural Heritage site, includes a brief resume
- Encyclopedia Americana. 1920. .
- Ralph Modjeski — Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences