Samuel Diescher (June 25, 1839 – December 24, 1915) was a prominent

Hungarian-American Hungarian Americans (, ) are Americans of Hungarian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau has estimated that there are approximately 1.396 million Americans of Hungarian descent as of 2018. The total number of people with ethnic Hungarian backgroun ...

civil and mechanical engineer who had his career in the United States. After being educated at universities in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...

and

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

in Europe, he immigrated to the United States in 1866 and settled in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

. There he supervised construction of his first

inclined plane An inclined plane, also known as a ramp, is a flat supporting surface tilted at an angle from the vertical direction, with one end higher than the other, used as an aid for raising or lowering a load. The inclined plane is one of the six clas ...

. He later moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he worked with John Endres on the

Monongahela Incline The Monongahela Incline is a funicular on the South Side in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, near the Smithfield Street Bridge. Designed and built by Prussian-born engineer John Endres in 1870, it is the oldest continuously operating ...

(1870), the first passenger incline in the city. Diescher designed the

Duquesne Incline The Duquesne Incline ( ) is a funicular scaling Mount Washington near the South Side neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The lower station is in the Second Empire style. Together with the incline, which rises in height, ...

(1877). He is believed to have designed the majority of

inclined planes An inclined plane, also known as a ramp, is a flat supporting surface tilted at an angle from the vertical direction, with one end higher than the other, used as an aid for raising or lowering a load. The inclined plane is one of the six clas ...

in the United States, including numerous projects in Pennsylvania. He also designed a wide range of industrial projects, particularly those related to the coal and steel industries. His three sons also became engineers and in 1901 he set up a business with them: S. Diescher and Sons. These two early inclines in Pittsburgh are the only passenger inclines still in use there. Both are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

and, in 1977, were also designated as Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmarks by the

American Society of Mechanical Engineers The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via "continuing edu ...

Biography

Born in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, Diescher was educated at Karlsruhe Polytechnique and the

University of Zurich The University of Zurich (UZH, ) is a public university, public research university in Zurich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of the ...

. Emigrating to the United States in 1866, he settled in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, where he built his first inclined plane and met John Endres, a Prussian-born engineer. He moved to

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

to work with Endres on the

, the first passenger incline in the city. The chief engineer was assisted by his daughter, Caroline Endres, who had been educated in Europe and also trained as an engineer. In 1872, Diescher married Caroline Endres at the St. Paul German Evangelical Church in Cincinnati, Ohio. She was one of the first female engineers in the United States. The young couple made their home on

Mount Washington Mount Washington is an ultra-prominent mountain in the state of New Hampshire. It is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at and the most topographically prominent mountain east of the Mississippi River. The mountain is notorio ...

in Pittsburgh and had six children together: sons Samuel E., August P. and Alfred J. Diescher, who all became engineers. The couple also had three daughters, Irene E., Carrie L., and Irma J. Diescher. In 1901 the father set up a business for him and his sons: S. Diescher and Sons. Diescher designed a range of water works, industrial buildings and plants, coal handling equipment, furnaces for the steel industry, and miscellaneous machinery for tasks ranging from soap making to steel fabrication to sugar beet processing. He designed the majority of

in the United States, including numerous inclines in Pittsburgh and southwestern Pennsylvania. The most notable of these is the

, which has become a popular tourist attraction in the city of Pittsburgh. Other works attributed to him include the Castle Shannon Incline, the Castle Shannon South Incline, Penn Incline, Fort Pitt Incline, Troy Hill Incline (more probably designed by

Gustav Lindenthal Gustav Lindenthal (May 21, 1850 – July 31, 1935) was a civil engineer who designed the Queensboro Bridge, Queensboro and Hell Gate Bridge, Hell Gate bridges in New York City, among other bridges. Lindenthal's work was greatly affected by h ...

), Nunnery Hill Incline, Clifton Incline, Ridgewood Incline (alternatively credited to J. Ford Mackenzie) and the

Johnstown Inclined Plane The Johnstown Inclined Plane is a funicular in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Johnstown, Cambria County, Pennsylvania, U.S. The incline and its two stations connect the city of Johnstown, situated in a valley at the confluence of the Stonycreek Rive ...

. He also designed and built inclines in Wheeling, West Virginia; Cleveland, Ohio; Duluth, Minnesota; Orange, New Jersey;

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...

, Canada; and Girardot and Camboa,

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

. He was the chief engineer for the

Pittsburgh and Castle Shannon Railroad The Pittsburgh and Castle Shannon Railroad was a narrow-gauge railroad in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Originally built in 1871, it may have been the first American common-carrier narrow-gauge railroad. It purchased a rail line called the C ...

. Working with George Ferris, Diescher designed the machinery for the

Ferris wheel A Ferris wheel (also called a big wheel, giant wheel or an observation wheel) is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating upright wheel with multiple passenger-carrying components (commonly referred to as passenger cars, cabins, tubs, gondola ...

at the

1893 Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The ce ...

in Chicago, which became one of its most famous attractions. He also designed an energy generating plant for the U. S. Wave Power Company in

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city (New Jersey), city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of ...

. He was active in highway engineering and street-railway construction. Diescher was also well known for designing and building coal-washing plants, coke works, water works, machine shops, and

rolling mill In metalworking, rolling is a metal forming process in which metal stock is passed through one or more pairs of rolls to reduce the thickness, to make the thickness uniform, and/or to impart a desired mechanical property. The concept is simi ...

s. Diescher retired in 1908 and died on December 24, 1915, survived by his wife Caroline and other family. He was buried at

Allegheny Cemetery Allegheny Cemetery is one of the largest and oldest burial grounds in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is a historic rural cemetery. The non-sectarian, wooded hillside park is located at 4734 Butler Street in the Lawrenceville neighborhood, and b ...

, where his wife was also later interred.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Diescher, Samuel 1839 births 1915 deaths Engineers from the Austrian Empire Emigrants from the Austrian Empire Immigrants to the United States Hungarian civil engineers University of Zurich alumni Railway inclines in Pittsburgh Burials at Allegheny Cemetery