Titanic and Brooklyn Bridge connection

[Tarn Stephanos]

I have heard either the designer, or the son of the man who designed the Brooklyn Bridge was on the Titanic. Anyone know the name of this person?

regards


Tarn Stephanos

 

[Ben Holme]

Hi Tarn,

Washington Augustus Roebling II was the Brooklyn Bridge connection to the Titanic. He was the nephew of Col. Washington A. Roebling who actually built the Bridge. Roebling Sr's father was John Roebling, a German immigrant who designed the famous structure. The Trentoniana department of the Trenton public library has a wealth of material on "Washy" and the Roebling family, as does the Roebling website:

http://www.invention factory.com/history/ index.html

Many newpapers erroneously reported "Col. Washington A. Roebling" as having perished in the disaster, whereas in fact, his nephew (and namesake) was lost.

Ben

 

[Lester Mitcham]

Hi Tarn,

The passenger whose name you seek is Washington Augustus Roebling the IInd. It is my understanding that it was his uncle who was one of the builders of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Too many [even quite recent] publications report that it was the builder of the Brooklyn Bridge who was a passenger.

Hope this helps,
Lester

 

[Trent Pheifer]

Tarn,

You have crossed my two favorite subjects to study, New York and Titanic lol.
John A. Roebling (born June 12, 1806) and and Wilhelm Hildenbrand were the Bridge Design Engineers. Unfortunaly part way through it's construction John died of injuries he got from a accident on the construction site. So his son Colonel Washington A. Roebling took over the job. Well, Washington developed caisson disease which is a decompression sickness, his wife, Emily Roebling took over parts of the job, Washington would watch the construction from his window of his house. He died the same year the bridge opened, 1883. Washington was the uncle of, First-Class Passenger Washington Augustus Roebling II .

Hope this helps some. Gotta love NYC ! lol

-Trent

 

[Mark Baber]

There was a magnificent book called The Great Bridge, by David McCullough (?), written quite a few years ago, about the Roeblings and the Brooklyn Bridge. I'm not an engineer, and profess to no particular knowledge of or interest in such things, but this is probably one of the ten or tweleve best books I've ever read.