Fritz Langbein (15 March 1891 – 28 April 1967) was a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...

, engineering administrator and company director. Langbein was born on 15 March 1891 in

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

, the son of Frederick John Langbein, a commercial traveller and farmer, and his wife, Mary Ross. He was educated at

Nelson College Nelson College is the oldest state secondary school in New Zealand. It is an all-boys school in Nelson, New Zealand, the City of Nelson that teaches from years 9 to 13. In addition, it runs a private preparatory school for year 7 and 8 boys. ...

from 1904 to 1908.''Nelson College Old Boys' Register, 1856–2006'', 6th edition During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, Langbein served with the

New Zealand Tunnelling Company The New Zealand Tunnelling Company (also ''New Zealand Engineers Tunnelling Company'') was a tunnel warfare unit of the Royal New Zealand Engineers during World War I which specialised in sapping and mining. The tunnelling companies were occupi ...

of the

New Zealand Expeditionary Force The New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) was the title of the military forces sent from New Zealand to fight alongside other British Empire and Dominion troops during World War I (1914–1918) and World War II (1939–1945). Ultimately, the NZE ...

on the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

in France. Langbein was responsible for the design of many highway bridges in New Zealand, including the

Rakaia Bridge The Rakaia Bridge is New Zealand's longest road bridge and crosses the Rakaia River, one of Canterbury's large braided rivers. The present bridge was opened in 1939 and replaced an earlier combined road and rail bridge from 1873. The present roa ...

References

1891 births 1967 deaths New Zealand civil engineers 20th-century New Zealand businesspeople People from Nelson, New Zealand People educated at Nelson College {{NewZealand-business-bio-stub