Roebling, John Augustus

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Roebling, John Augustus (1806–69) US engineer and industrialist, b. Germany. In 1831 he emigrated to the USA and became a civil engineer. He directed the construction of suspension bridges across the Allegheny and Niagara rivers. He was appointed chief engineer of the Brooklyn Bridge in 1869, but was killed in an accident during an early survey. His son Washington Augustus Roebling (1837–1926) was also an engineer and industrialist. During the Civil War, he served as a military engineer and balloonist. In 1869 he succeeded his father as chief engineer on the Brooklyn Bridge until its completion in 1883.

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