Balanced by some other force

June 18, 2018 6:35 AM

In an 1898 letter to her son Emily wrote, “I have more brains, common sense, and know-how, generally than any two engineers civil or uncivil that I have ever met, and but for me, the Brooklyn Bridge, would never have had the name Roebling in any way connected to it!”
posted by ChuraChura (6 comments total)

I just read a fine graphic novel telling this story, The Bridge by Peter J. Tomasi and Sara DuVall.
posted by He Is Only The Imposter at 6:39 AM on June 18, 2018 [1 favorite]

And see a digitized photo album kept by Emily (contains photographs of her trip to Russia, Scotland):

Photograph album, Emily Warren Roebling, 1896-1914

As well:

The Brooklyn Bridge : A History of the Bridge / by W. C. Conant; The Bridge as a Monument / by Montgomery Schulyer (1883)
posted by mfoight at 7:39 AM on June 18, 2018 [1 favorite]

It’s good to see Emily Roebling getting the spotlight! The article is a little sparse on some dates, so it’s a little difficult to follow the timing of all of this. Interested in learning more, I scoped out Wikipedia.

The article on the Brooklyn Bridge provides more details on the timing of project:

1852 — Bridge first conceived of by John Augustus Roebling.

1867 — The New York Senate approves the Bridge. Design, survey and public relations conducted by John Roebling as General Manager / Chief Engineer. Washington Roebling, his son, had worked with his father on other bridges, and is named as Assistant Engineer on the Brooklyn Bridge.

1869 — John A. Roebling has a crushed foot while surveying for the Bridge and, suffering from infection after the amputation, hands over the General Manager role to his son Washington. Washington is named Chief Engineer after his father’s death that year. Construction on the bridge begins this year, with a number of improvements in the design by Washington.

1870 — While working to control a fire in one of the pressurized caissons that formed the foundation of the Bridge, Washington suffers from decompression sickness (“the bends”) and is bedridden for the duration of the construction. And here, the Wikipedia article on Emily Roebling is so eloquent that it should just be quoted outright (endnotes removed):

As the only person to visit her husband during his sickness, Emily was to relay information from Washington to his assistants and report the progress of work on the bridge. She developed an extensive knowledge of strength of materials, stress analysis, cable construction, and calculating catenary curves through Washington's teachings. Emily's knowledge was complemented by her prior interest in and study of the bridge's construction upon her husband's appointment to Chief Engineer. For the next fourteen years, Emily's dedication to the completion of the Brooklyn Bridge was unyielding. She took over much of the chief engineer's duties, including day-to-day supervision and project management. Emily and her husband jointly planned the bridge's continued construction. She dealt with politicians, competing engineers, and all those associated with the work on the bridge to the point where people believed she was behind the bridge's design.

In 1882, Washington's title of chief engineer was in jeopardy because of his sickness. In order to allow him to retain his title, Emily went to gatherings of engineers and politicians to defend her husband. To the Roeblings' relief, the politicians responded well to Emily's speeches, and Washington was permitted to remain Chief Engineer of the Brooklyn Bridge.

The Brooklyn Bridge was completed in 1883. In advance of the official opening, carrying a rooster as a sign of victory, Emily Roebling was the first to cross the bridge by carriage. At the opening ceremony, Emily was honored in a speech by Abram Stevens Hewitt who said at the bridge was

...an everlasting monument to the sacrificing devotion of a woman and of her capacity for that higher education from which she has been too long disbarred.

Today the Brooklyn Bridge is marked with a plaque dedicated to the memory of Emily, her husband Washington Roebling, and her father-in-law John A. Roebling.

It’s an incredible story and Emily Roebling deserves every bit of credit she gets for her heroic contributions to the Bridge.
posted by darkstar at 8:30 AM on June 18, 2018 [7 favorites]

Wild! I've looked at her portrait countless times doing costume research and never bothered to find out anything about her fascinating life.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 9:04 AM on June 18, 2018

Here's her "Overlooked Obituary" from the NY Times.
posted by ChuraChura at 11:47 AM on June 18, 2018 [1 favorite]

This is mentioned in the linked story, but it's somewhat buried and deserves celebration; a street in the neighborhood on the Brooklyn side of the bridge has been recently named for Emily Roebling. I fell in love with the Brooklyn Bridge when I moved to the city close to the year of it's Centennial and learned of Emily's contribution to the achievement back then. It's great to see her publicly honored for the great work she did.
posted by layceepee at 11:53 AM on June 18, 2018 [1 favorite]