Matteo Martinolich (10 February 1860 - 23 December 1934) was an American master
shipbuilder
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befor ...
. He was the first to use Mississippi pine in the building of seagoing vessels, which was approved by the Marine Underwriters.
Born in
Mali Lošinj
Mali Lošinj ( it, Lussinpiccolo, vec, Lusinpicolo) is a town in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, on the island of Lošinj, in western Croatia. At the time of the 2011 census, there were 8,116 inhabitants, of whom 86% were Croats.
The favourab ...
,
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
(at the time part of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with t ...
), the son of Francesco Stanislao Martinolich and Maria Dominica Merlo, he initially studied
naval architecture
Naval architecture, or naval engineering, is an engineering discipline incorporating elements of mechanical, electrical, electronic, software and safety engineering as applied to the engineering design process, shipbuilding, maintenance, and ...
and received training in carpentry at the Austrian naval shipyards in Pola (present-day Pula, Croatia). At that time, Pola was the chief naval base of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
He arrived in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
DeLisle, Mississippi, where Matteo worked for local shipbuilder Antonio Pavolini, originally from
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
. Matteo married Antonio's oldest daughter, Johanna, in 1885.
From 1907-11, Martinolich also worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the
Chattahoochee River
The Chattahoochee River forms the southern half of the Alabama and Georgia border, as well as a portion of the Florida - Georgia border. It is a tributary of the Apalachicola River, a relatively short river formed by the confluence of the Chatta ...
building dredge boats for their dam building projects.
Through World War I and until his semi-retirement and closing of the business in about 1922, Martinolich built and designed hundreds of ships and boats; some still ply the seas today.