Stephen H. Long and Squire Whipple: The First American Structural Engineers
Publication: Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 121, Issue 9
Abstract
Structural engineering as a profession dates from the second quarter of the 19th century. This paper traces the careers of Steven H. Long and Squire Whipple, who by their writings and construction of bridges between 1830 and 1860 changed bridge building and design from an art to a science. Prior to these two men, bridge builders were carpenters, millwrights, or architects who designed their bridge structures using rules of thumb. Long, with his series of pamphlets and articles in the Journal of the Franklin Institute, and Whipple, with his Treatise on Bridge Building, in 1847, placed in front of their fellow engineers methods for actually designing the members of their trusses, beams, and columns. A knowledge of the origins of their profession will enable the structural engineers of the last decade of the 20th century to better appreciate the contributions made by Whipple and Long.
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References
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 121 • Issue 9 • September 1995
Pages: 1352 - 1361
Copyright
Copyright © 1995 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Published online: Sep 1, 1995
Published in print: Sep 1995
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