WRIGHT

WRIGHT 10.10. 1770 Wethersfield CT/USA 24.08. 1842 Brooklyn NY/USA Benjamin Wright assisted the celebrated English engineer William Weston (1752-1833) in surveys of canals for what became later the Erie Canal. These works commenced in 1817, with Wright as engineer for the middle canal section first, and later as chief engineer, after Weston had declined to take charge of this project. The Erie Canal became the first school of civil engineering in the USA, ‘professor Wright’ being the best man available. Among his ‘students’ was for instance John B. Jervis (17951885). Once work on the Canal was well underway, Wright was prevailed upon to locate other canal routes. He was fifty-five years old when reaching the apex of acclamation of his career at the ‘Great celebration of the opening of Erie Canal’ on Nov. 7, 1825. In 1827, Wright made his first studies on the use of steam locomotives. In conjunction with Jervis and his assistant Horatio Allen (1802-1890), the possibility of steam railways was investigated. He also was a consultant on the Blackstone Canal in Rhode Island and chief engineer of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, Maryland. In 1832 he was appointed chief engineer of the St. Lawrence Ship Canal, but later mainly worked on railways projects. Recognition of Wright is best described by citing three examples. In 1839 he prepared the constitution of a proposed society of civil engineers, which however came only into existence in 1852 as the American Society of Civil Engineers. It was only in 1968 that the professional legatees declared Wright as Father of the American Civil Engineering. On his bicentennial of birth in 1970, a bronze plaque was dedicated at his birthplace. His career included bridges, canals and railroads, with his assistants forming the nucleus of the American civil engineering profession during the early 19th century. Anonymous (1970). Ceremony marks Connecticut birthplace of B. Wright. Civil Engineering 40(12): 65. P Fitzsimons, N. (1970). Benjamin Wright: The Father of American Civil Engineering. Civil Engineering 40(9): 68. P Langbein, W.B. (1975). Our Grand Erie Canal: A splendid project, a little short of madness. Civil Engineering Special Issue: 60-66. Shank, W.H. (1982). Towpaths to tugboats. ASCE: New York. P Stuart, C.B. (1871). Lives and works of civil and military engineers of America. Van Nostrand: New York. Weingardt, R.G. (2005). Engineering legends: Great American civil engineers. ASCE: Reston.