James Warren (18061908) was a British

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

who, around 1848 to 1907 (along with Willoughby Monzoni), patented the Warren-style

truss bridge A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements (typically straight) may be stressed from tension, compression, or ...

and

girder A girder () is a support beam used in construction. It is the main horizontal support of a structure which supports smaller beams. Girders often have an I-beam cross section composed of two load-bearing ''flanges'' separated by a stabilizing ...

design. This bridge design is mainly constructed by equilateral triangles which can carry both tension and compression. The first suspension bridge to utilize a Warren truss in its design was the

Manhattan Bridge The Manhattan Bridge is a suspension bridge that crosses the East River in New York City, connecting Lower Manhattan at Canal Street with Downtown Brooklyn at the Flatbush Avenue Extension. The main span is long, with the suspension cables ...

in New York City. Handley_Page_HP42_(cropped)

The Warren Truss design was also used in early aviation when

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

s were dominant, the alternating diagonal truss being used for the

interplane strut In aeronautics, bracing comprises additional structural members which stiffen the functional airframe to give it rigidity and strength under load. Bracing may be applied both internally and externally, and may take the form of strut, which act in ...

s in aircraft such as the Handley Page H.P.42 airliner and the Fiat CR.42 fighter. The

Warren truss Warren Errol Truss, (born 8 October 1948) is a former Australian politician who served as the 16th Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development in the Abbott Government and the Turnbull Govern ...

is one of the most widely used and known bridge styles worldwide.

References

1806 births 1908 deaths British bridge engineers British centenarians Men centenarians Date of birth missing Date of death missing {{UK-engineer-stub