Here’s a list of four civil engineers who changed the world with their work.
This is the second oldest engineering discipline in the world, so you can imagine there have been plenty of civil engineers who changed the world in their profession. And here we’re going to remember four of those people.
The civil engineers that changed the world.
John Smeaton – Often regarded as the father of civil engineering, Smeaton made huge contributions to the Industrial Revolution. Born in Leeds, he was the first to proclaim himself a ‘civil engineer’. He was involved in work on windmills and waterwheels but is perhaps best known for his work studying the correlation between pressure and velocity for objects moving in the air.
Squire Whipple – No. We haven’t made that name up. Born in Massachusetts Whipple designed and then built a 300 ton capacity weigh lock scale for the Erie Canal. He also built several bridges for the New York and Erie railroad. His designs were used in numerous bridges and became the standard design for Erie Canal crossings.
Benjamin Wright – Described as the father of American civil engineering, Wright served as the chief engineer to the construction of the Erie Canal and Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. He eventually had contracts for construction efforts involving 6,000 men and 700 horses. That’s man management. Oh, he had 9 kids too, 5 of which went on to become civil engineers too.
Isambard Kingdom Brunel – You didn’t expect to read a list about civil engineers and not see this name, did you?
One of the most famous civil engineers ever, Brunel was versatile. He designed tunnels, railways, ships and bridges and was named the 2nd greatest Briton back in 2002 (beat to the number 1 spot by Churchill.)
His most famous works were the tunnels, bridges and viaducts he designed for the Great Western Railway. He designed ships too, the most famous of which were the Great Western and the Great Britain.
So who do you think the most influential civil engineer is? Let us know!