Donald Roebling
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Donald Roebling (November 15, 1908 – August 29, 1959) was an eccentric twentieth-century American
philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...
, engineer,
industrial designer Industrial design is a process of design applied to physical products that are to be manufactured by mass production. It is the creative act of determining and defining a product's form and features, which takes place in advance of the manufactu ...
, and
inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea, or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...
. He was the great-grandson of John A. Roebling, who began the design of the
Brooklyn Bridge The Brooklyn Bridge is a cable-stayed suspension bridge in New York City, spanning the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Opened on May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossing of the East River. It w ...
, and the grandson of Colonel
Washington A. Roebling Washington Augustus Roebling (May 26, 1837 – July 21, 1926) was an American civil engineer who supervised the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge, designed by his father John A. Roebling. He served in the Union Army during the American Civil ...
and
Emily Warren Roebling Emily Warren Roebling (September 23, 1843 – February 28, 1903) was an engineer known for her contributions over a period of more than 10 years to the completion of the Brooklyn Bridge after her husband Washington Roebling developed caiss ...
, who together completed the design and supervised its construction. His father was John A. Roebling II.


History

Born in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, Roebling grew up in his family's Boulderwood Mansion in
Bernardsville, New Jersey Bernardsville (Melisurgo, Len NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, June 23, 2017. Accessed December 1, 2024. "Same goes with the neighboring borough of Bernardsville. (It should be pronounced BERN-ards-vil.)") is the northernmost borough in Somerset C ...
. Roebling built Spottiswoode (the
Donald Roebling Estate The Donald Roebling Estate, also known as Spottiswoode and Spotswood, is a historic residential estate in Clearwater, within Pinellas County on the West coast of Florida. History It was the home of inventor, engineer, industrial designer, a ...
) in
Clearwater, Florida Clearwater is a city and the county seat of Pinellas County, Florida, United States, west of Tampa, Florida, Tampa and north of St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg. To the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and to the southeast lies T ...
, in 1929. The estate and its buildings were added to the National Register of Historic Places in Pinellas County in 1979. Roebling died in
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
on August 29, 1959, following complications of an earlier gall bladder operation.


Science and invention

Roebling had an interest in science, and sponsored
Paul Bartsch Paul Bartsch (14 August 1871 Tłumaczów, Tuntschendorf, Silesia – 24 April 1960 McLean, Virginia) was an American Malacology, malacologist and carcinologist. He was named the last of those belonging to the "Descriptive Age of Malacology". E ...
's 1937 Smithsonian marine research expedition. He was also involved in the establishment of the
Archbold Biological Station The Archbold Biological Station (ABS) is a research institute with a surrounding estate near Lake Placid, Florida, US, in Highlands County. It is a venue for field research and education, as well as ranching. History The station was establish ...
. He is most famous for inventing the amtrac in 1937, which he originally intended to be a
hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its ...
rescue device. The
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
awarded Roebling a Certificate of Achievement in recognition of "exceptional accomplishment" for his invention, dubbed the Roebling Alligator. In 1948, he received the Medal of Merit from President
Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...
, "for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding service to the United States."


See also

* *


References


External links


"Roebling's Amphibian"
GlobalSecurity.org GlobalSecurity.org is an American independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that serves as a think tank, and research and consultancy group. Focus The site is focused on national and international security issues; military analysis, sys ...
. 1987.
"Roebling Alligator Amphibian Tractor"
ibiblio ibiblio (formerly SunSITE.unc.edu and MetaLab.unc.edu) is a "collection of collections", and hosts a diverse range of publicly available information and open source content, including software, music, literature, art, history, science, politic ...
. May 23, 2006.
"Business & Finance: Alligators by Roebling"
''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
''. January 11, 1943. Roebling, Donald Roebling, Donald Roebling, Donald Roebling, Donald Roebling, Donald Roebling, Donald Roebling, Donald Roebling, Donald Roebling, Donald Roebling, Donald
Donald Donald is a Scottish masculine given name. It is derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinter ...
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