Key Figure in the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge.
The son of John Augustus and Johanna Herting Roebling, Washington took his engineering degree at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and worked with his father in bridge construction prior to his Union Army Civil War service, during which time he distinguished himself at Gettysburg and was credited with the construction of bridges across the Rappahannock and Shenandoah Rivers. In 1865, he married Emily Warren, sister of Gouverneur Kemble Warren, the Army General with whom Roebling had served.
Returning to work with his father, Roebling travelled to Europe to study new techniques for use in his father's project to build the Brooklyn Bridge. Before construction got under way, his father was injured in an accident and soon died of tetanus, whereupon Washington was asked to take over the project. Three years later he was severely disabled by "the bends" as a result of working in pressurized caissons used to build the underwater bases of the bridge towers, and he moved to a nearby Brooklyn apartment from which he could view the construction. For 11 years, he sent his instructions to the site via his wife Emily, who had learned much about engineering and materials properties, and she effectively managed the project for him.
After its completion, he resided for a time in Troy, New York, and, in 1893, returned to Trenton, New Jersey, the site of the John A. Roebling's Sons Co. manufacturing business. After the death of his nephew Karl in 1921, Washington took on the company presidency for the second time, during which he modernized and effectively managed the company. He died at his home in Trenton in 1926.
The son of John Augustus and Johanna Herting Roebling, Washington took his engineering degree at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and worked with his father in bridge construction prior to his Union Army Civil War service, during which time he distinguished himself at Gettysburg and was credited with the construction of bridges across the Rappahannock and Shenandoah Rivers. In 1865, he married Emily Warren, sister of Gouverneur Kemble Warren, the Army General with whom Roebling had served.
Returning to work with his father, Roebling travelled to Europe to study new techniques for use in his father's project to build the Brooklyn Bridge. Before construction got under way, his father was injured in an accident and soon died of tetanus, whereupon Washington was asked to take over the project. Three years later he was severely disabled by "the bends" as a result of working in pressurized caissons used to build the underwater bases of the bridge towers, and he moved to a nearby Brooklyn apartment from which he could view the construction. For 11 years, he sent his instructions to the site via his wife Emily, who had learned much about engineering and materials properties, and she effectively managed the project for him.
After its completion, he resided for a time in Troy, New York, and, in 1893, returned to Trenton, New Jersey, the site of the John A. Roebling's Sons Co. manufacturing business. After the death of his nephew Karl in 1921, Washington took on the company presidency for the second time, during which he modernized and effectively managed the company. He died at his home in Trenton in 1926.
Key Figure in the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge.
The son of John Augustus and Johanna Herting Roebling, Washington took his engineering degree at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and worked with his father in bridge construction prior to his Union Army Civil War service, during which time he distinguished himself at Gettysburg and was credited with the construction of bridges across the Rappahannock and Shenandoah Rivers. In 1865, he married Emily Warren, sister of Gouverneur Kemble Warren, the Army General with whom Roebling had served.
Returning to work with his father, Roebling travelled to Europe to study new techniques for use in his father's project to build the Brooklyn Bridge. Before construction got under way, his father was injured in an accident and soon died of tetanus, whereupon Washington was asked to take over the project. Three years later he was severely disabled by "the bends" as a result of working in pressurized caissons used to build the underwater bases of the bridge towers, and he moved to a nearby Brooklyn apartment from which he could view the construction. For 11 years, he sent his instructions to the site via his wife Emily, who had learned much about engineering and materials properties, and she effectively managed the project for him.
After its completion, he resided for a time in Troy, New York, and, in 1893, returned to Trenton, New Jersey, the site of the John A. Roebling's Sons Co. manufacturing business. After the death of his nephew Karl in 1921, Washington took on the company presidency for the second time, during which he modernized and effectively managed the company. He died at his home in Trenton in 1926.
The son of John Augustus and Johanna Herting Roebling, Washington took his engineering degree at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and worked with his father in bridge construction prior to his Union Army Civil War service, during which time he distinguished himself at Gettysburg and was credited with the construction of bridges across the Rappahannock and Shenandoah Rivers. In 1865, he married Emily Warren, sister of Gouverneur Kemble Warren, the Army General with whom Roebling had served.
Returning to work with his father, Roebling travelled to Europe to study new techniques for use in his father's project to build the Brooklyn Bridge. Before construction got under way, his father was injured in an accident and soon died of tetanus, whereupon Washington was asked to take over the project. Three years later he was severely disabled by "the bends" as a result of working in pressurized caissons used to build the underwater bases of the bridge towers, and he moved to a nearby Brooklyn apartment from which he could view the construction. For 11 years, he sent his instructions to the site via his wife Emily, who had learned much about engineering and materials properties, and she effectively managed the project for him.
After its completion, he resided for a time in Troy, New York, and, in 1893, returned to Trenton, New Jersey, the site of the John A. Roebling's Sons Co. manufacturing business. After the death of his nephew Karl in 1921, Washington took on the company presidency for the second time, during which he modernized and effectively managed the company. He died at his home in Trenton in 1926.
Bio by: Robert Morris
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