Joseph B. Strauss, Charles A. Ellis, and the Golden Gate Bridge: Justice at Last
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Volume 136, Issue 2
Abstract
The Golden Gate Bridge is one of the best-known engineering structures in the world and was the longest suspension bridge in the world for many years. Its design has generally been attributed to Joseph Strauss, but recent evidence proves that Charles Ellis was the prime designer of the bridge between 1929 and 1931. Strauss fired Ellis in late 1931 and systematically removed any mention of Ellis’ name in his final report on the bridge issued in 1938. It remained for John van der Zee in his book The Gate to set the record straight. This paper makes the case that Strauss violated one of the fundamental ethical canons—that of giving credit where credit is due.
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Acknowledgments
Note: all letters and telegrams cited are from The Charles Ellis Papers held at the Purdue University Archives and Special Collections, Gift of Lewis B. McCammon 1997.
References
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Strauss, J. B. (1938). “The Golden Gate Bridge.” Report of the Chief Engineer Prepared for the Board of Directors of the Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District, Calif.
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van der Zee, J. (1987). The Gate: The true story of the design and construction of the Golden Gate Bridge, Simon and Schuster, New York.
van der Zee, J. and Cone, R. (1992). “The case of the missing engineer….” San Francisco Examiner, May 31.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice
Volume 136 • Issue 2 • April 2010
Pages: 71 - 83
Copyright
© 2010 ASCE.
History
Received: Oct 1, 2008
Accepted: May 15, 2009
Published online: Mar 15, 2010
Published in print: Apr 2010
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