Brooklyn Bridge opens 1883
After 14 years and 27 deaths while being constructed, the Brooklyn
Bridge over the East River is opened, connecting the great cities of New
York and Brooklyn for the first time in history. Thousands of residents
of Brooklyn and Manhattan Island turned out to witness the dedication
ceremony, which was presided over by President Chester A. Arthur and New
York Governor Grover Cleveland. Designed by the late John A. Roebling,
the Brooklyn Bridge was the largest suspension bridge ever built to that
date.
John Roebling, born in Germany in 1806, was a great pioneer in the
design of steel suspension bridges. He studied industrial engineering in
Berlin and at the age of 25 immigrated to western Pennsylvania, where
he attempted, unsuccessfully, to make his living as a farmer. He later
moved to the state capital in Harrisburg, where he found work as a civil
engineer. He promoted the use of wire cable and established a
successful wire-cable factory.
Meanwhile, he earned a reputation as a designer of suspension
bridges, which at the time were widely used but known to fail under
strong winds or heavy loads. Roebling is credited with a major
breakthrough in suspension-bridge technology: a web truss added to
either side of the bridge roadway that greatly stabilized the structure.
Using this model, Roebling successfully bridged the Niagara Gorge at
Niagara Falls, New York, and the Ohio River at Cincinnati, Ohio. On the
basis of these achievements, New York State accepted Roebling’s design
for a bridge connecting Brooklyn and Manhattan–with a span of 1,595
feet–and appointed him chief engineer. It was to be the world’s first
steel suspension bridge.
Just before construction began in 1869, Roebling was fatally injured
while taking a few final compass readings across the East River. A boat
smashed the toes on one of his feet, and three weeks later he died of
tetanus. He was the first of more than two dozen people who would die
building his bridge. His 32-year-old son, Washington A. Roebling, took
over as chief engineer. Roebling had worked with his father on several
bridges and had helped design the Brooklyn Bridge.
The two granite foundations of the Brooklyn Bridge were built in
timber caissons, or watertight chambers, sunk to depths of 44 feet on
the Brooklyn side and 78 feet on the New York side. Compressed air
pressurized the caissons, allowing underwater construction. At that
time, little was known of the risks of working under such conditions,
and more than a hundred workers suffered from cases of compression
sickness. Compression sickness, or the “bends,” is caused by the
appearance of nitrogen bubbles in the bloodstream that result from rapid
decompression. Several died, and Washington Roebling himself became
bedridden from the condition in 1872. Other workers died as a result of
more conventional construction accidents, such as collapses and a fire.
Roebling continued to direct construction operations from his home,
and his wife, Emily, carried his instructions to the workers. In 1877,
Washington and Emily moved into a home with a view of the bridge.
Roebling’s health gradually improved, but he remained partially
paralyzed for the rest of his life. On May 24, 1883, Emily Roebling was
given the first ride over the completed bridge, with a rooster, a symbol
of victory, in her lap. Within 24 hours, an estimated 250,000 people
walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, using a broad promenade above the
roadway that John Roebling designed solely for the enjoyment of
pedestrians.
The Brooklyn Bridge, with its unprecedented length and two stately
towers, was dubbed the “eighth wonder of the world.” The connection it
provided between the massive population centers of Brooklyn and
Manhattan changed the course of New York City forever. In 1898, the city
of Brooklyn formally merged with New York City, Staten Island, and a
few farm towns, forming Greater New York.
(More Events on This Day in History)
-
American Revolution
- 1775 John Hancock becomes president of Congress
-
Automotive
- 1991 “Thelma and Louise,” featuring 1966 Ford Thunderbird, released
-
Civil War
- 1864 Battle of North Anna continues
-
Cold War
- 1959 John Foster Dulles dies
-
Crime
- 1989 Lori Ann Auker disappears from a parking lot
-
Disaster
- 1964 Riot erupts at soccer match
-
General Interest
- 1543 Copernicus dies
- 1844 What hath God wrought?
-
Hollywood
- 1989 sex, lies and videotape wins top prize at Cannes
-
Literary
- 1940 Joseph Brodsky is born
-
Music
- 1974 Duke Ellington dies
-
Old West
- 1863 Henry Plummer is elected sheriff of Bannack, Montana
-
Presidential
- 1797 Thomas Jefferson inquires about a former flame
-
Sports
- 1935 MLB holds first night game
-
Vietnam War
- 1964 Goldwater suggests using atomic weapons
- 1971 Soldiers place controversial ad in antiwar newspaper
-
World War I
- 1917 British naval convoy system introduced
-
World War II
- 1941 The Bismarck sinks the Hood
- 1943 Auschwitz gets a new doctor: “the Angel of Death”
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