Editing Ralph Modjeski

{{Short description|Polish-American civil engineer (1861–1940)}}
{{more footnotes|date = March 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| image         = Rudolf.Modrzejewski.1931.jpg
| image_caption = Modjeski in 1931
| birth_name    = Rudolf Modrzejewski
| birth_date    = {{birth date|1861|1|27}}
| birth_place   = [[Bochnia]], [[Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria|Galicia and Lodomeria]], [[Austrian Empire]]
| death_date    = {{death date and age|1940|6|26|1861|1|27}}
| death_place   = [[Los Angeles]], [[California]], U.S.
| citizenship   = Austria (1861–1883)<br>United States (1883–1940)
| known_for     = Building many [[suspension bridge]]s throughout the United States
| notable_works = {{ubl|[[Benjamin Franklin Bridge]]|[[Manhattan Bridge]]|[[Ambassador Bridge]]|[[San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge]]}}
| mother        = [[Helena Modjeska]]
| awards        = {{ubl|[[Howard N. Potts Medal]] (1914)|[[Franklin Medal]] (1921)|[[Member of the National Academy of Sciences|Membership of NAS]] (1925)|[[John Fritz Medal]] (1930)}}
}}
'''Ralph Modjeski''' (born '''Rudolf Modrzejewski'''; {{IPA|pl|mɔˈdʐɛjɛfskʲi|lang}}; January 27, 1861 – June 26, 1940) was a Polish-American [[civil engineer]] who achieved prominence as "America's greatest bridge builder."

He furthered the use of [[suspension bridge]]s and oversaw the design and construction of nearly forty bridges that spanned the great rivers of North America, as well as the development of new rail lines. In addition, he trained succeeding generations of American bridge designers and builders, including [[Joseph B. Strauss]], chief engineer of [[San Francisco]]'s [[Golden Gate Bridge]] (which was completed six months after Modjeski's [[San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge]]).

==Formative years and family==
Modjeski was born in [[Bochnia]], in [[Galicia (Central Europe)|Galicia]], on January 27, 1861, to Gustav Sinnmayer Modrzejewski and actress Helena Opid Modrzejewska (known outside Poland as [[Helena Modjeska]]). In 1865, his mother left Sinnmayer, and in 1868, she married Polish nobleman Karol Bożenta Chłapowski. In July 1876, they emigrated to America, where, as a matter of convenience, the boy's mother changed her name to [[Helena Modjeska]] and her son's name to Ralph Modjeski.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Durand |first=W.F. |title=Biographical Memoir of Ralph Modjeski |url=https://www.nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/memoir-pdfs/modjeski-ralph.pdf |journal=National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Biographical Memoirs |volume=XXIII |issue=10th memoir |access-date=7 November 2023}}</ref>

He was a classmate of [[Ignacy Jan Paderewski]] in Poland and was a formidable pianist in his own right.

The son returned to Europe to study at ''l'Ecole des Ponts et Chaussées'' (the School of Bridges and Roads) in [[Paris, France]]. It was in 1883, while studying at Paris, that he obtained American citizenship; however, he always maintained contact with Poland, wrote much in Polish, and emphasized his Polish origins.

In 1885, he graduated from the School of Bridges and Roads at the top of his class. That same year, he married a cousin Felicie Benda; the couple had three children. They divorced in 1931 after a sixteen-year-long separation. That same year, the seventy-year-old Modjeski married Virginia Mary Giblyn. 
[[File:RalphModjeski1914.jpg|thumb|right|Ralph Modjeski, 1914]]

==Career==
After completing his academic training, Modjeski returned to America to begin his career, working first under the "father of American bridge-building," [[George S. Morison (engineer)|George S. Morison]]. In 1893, Modjeski opened his own design office in [[Chicago]]. Joined in 1924 by Frank M. Masters Sr., the firm still exists as Modjeski & Masters.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History |url=https://www.modjeski.com/about/history/ |access-date=2023-11-07 |website=Modjeski and Masters |language=en}}</ref>

Modjeski's first project as chief engineer was the [[Government Bridge|railroad bridge]] across the [[Mississippi River]] at [[Rock Island, Illinois]]. During his career, he served as chief or consulting engineer on dozens of bridges across the United States.

He took over the mis-designed [[Quebec Bridge]] after the 1907 disaster that killed seventy-five workers, and succeeded in creating the longest [[Truss bridge|truss span]] in the world (though a construction accident killed another thirteen workers). It is still the longest [[cantilever bridge]] in the world.

Modjeski was the recipient of numerous awards and honorary degrees. He received a doctorate in engineering from [[Illinois State University]] in 1911, the [[Franklin Medal]] in 1923, a doctorate ''[[honoris causa]]'' from the [[Lwów Polytechnic]] in 1929, and the prestigious [[John Fritz Medal]] in 1930. He was elected to the United States [[National Academy of Sciences]] in 1925 and the [[American Philosophical Society]] in 1926.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ralph Modjeski |url=http://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/deceased-members/20000794.html |access-date=2023-08-10 |website=www.nasonline.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=APS Member History |url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=Ralph+Modjeski&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced |access-date=2023-08-10 |website=search.amphilsoc.org}}</ref> In Modjeski's obituary, Frank Masters considered him "one of the world's leading bridge engineers."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Masters |first=Frank |date=1941 |title=Memoir of Ralph Modjeski |journal=Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers |volume=105 |issue=1624}}</ref> A [[List of Pennsylvania state historical markers in Philadelphia County|PHMC Historical Marker]] was dedicated in 2007 in commemoration.

==Death==
He died on June 26, 1940, in [[Los Angeles, California]], nearly 80 years old. He was buried at the Ingelwood Eternity Mausoleum cemetery in crypt K-208.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://poland.pl/experience-poland/investments-projects/builder-bridges-america/ |title=A builder of bridges in America |last=Niemojewska |first=Agnieszka |date=June 28, 2017 |website=Poland.pl}}</ref>

==Bridges==
[[Image:Benjamin Franklin Bridge from DUKW.jpg|thumb|150px|[[Benjamin Franklin Bridge]]]]
[[File:SFOakBrWestPartVEast.jpg|thumb|150px|[[San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge]]]]
[[Image:Blue Water Bridge 2006.JPG|thumb|150px|[[Blue Water Bridge]]]]
[[Image:Ambassador bridge evening.jpg|thumb|100px|[[Ambassador Bridge]]]]
*Chief Engineer
**[[Government Bridge]] (1896)
**[[Thebes Bridge]] (1905)
**[[Burlington Northern Railroad Bridge 9.6]], [[Oregon Slough Railroad Bridge|Bridge 8.8]] and [[Burlington Northern Railroad Bridge 5.1|Bridge 5.1]] (all 1906–08)
**[[Quebec Bridge]] (1907-1917)
**[[McKinley Bridge]] (1910)
**[[Oregon Trunk Rail Bridge|Celilo Bridge]] (1910)
**[[Crooked River Railroad Bridge]] (1911)
**[[Broadway Bridge (Portland, Oregon)]]  (1913)
**[[Metropolis Bridge]] (1914)
**[[Harahan Bridge]] (1916)
**[[Metropolis Bridge]] (1917)
**[[Mears Memorial Bridge]] (1923)
**[[Mid-Hudson Bridge]] aka Franklin Delano Roosevelt Mid-Hudson Bridge (1930)
**[[Benjamin Franklin Bridge]] ([[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]] and [[Camden, New Jersey]] (1926)
**[[Tacony-Palmyra Bridge]] ([[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]] and [[Palmyra, New Jersey]]) (1929)
**[[Wissahickon Memorial Bridge]] ([[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]]) (1931)
**[[I-74 Bridge]] aka the Moline to Bettendorf Veterans Memorial Bridge 1933
**[[Huey P. Long Bridge (Jefferson Parish)|Huey P. Long Bridge]] (1935)
**[[Blue Water Bridge]] ([[Port Huron, Michigan]] and [[Point Edward, Ontario]], 1938)
*Consulting Engineer
**[[Manhattan Bridge]] (1909)
**[[Market Street Bridge (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania)]] (1926)
**[[Ambassador Bridge]] ([[Detroit|Detroit, Michigan]], and [[Windsor, Ontario]], 1929)
**[[George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge]] (1929)
**[[McPhaul Suspension Bridge]] (1929)
**[[San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge]] (1936)

==See also==
* [[Belle Silveira]]
* [[List of Poles#Engineering|List of Poles]]

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last= Glomb |first= Jozef |others=Peter J. Obst (trans.) |title= A man who spanned two eras: The story of bridge engineer Ralph Modjeski |year= 2002 |publisher= Kosciuszko Foundation |location= Philadelphia |isbn= 978-0-917004-25-4 }}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://bridginguamericafilm.com/ BRIDGING URBAN AMERICA, A STORY OF RALPH MODJESKI], a documentary film
* [http://www.asce.org/history/hh.cfm?hhe=53 Ralph Modjeski]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} on the [[American Society of Civil Engineers|ASCE]] [https://web.archive.org/web/20080704172118/http://live.asce.org/hh/index.mxml History and Heritage of Civil Engineering website]
* {{Structurae person|id=d000386|name=Ralph Modjeski}}
*[http://www.polishcultureacpc.org/modjeski/ReleaseM.html Cultural Heritage site] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080719171355/http://www.polishcultureacpc.org/modjeski/ReleaseM.html |date=2008-07-19 }}, includes a brief resume
* {{Cite Americana|wstitle=Modjeski, Ralph |short=x}}
* {{Biographical Memoirs|modjeski-ralph}}

{{John Fritz Medal|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Modjeski, Ralph}}
[[Category:1861 births]]
[[Category:1940 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Bochnia]]
[[Category:Emigrants from Austria-Hungary to the United States]]
[[Category:Polish engineers]]
[[Category:American civil engineers]]
[[Category:American bridge engineers]]
[[Category:Illinois State University alumni]]
[[Category:Howard N. Potts Medal recipients]]
[[Category:John Fritz Medal recipients]]
[[Category:Members of the American Philosophical Society]]
[[Category:Recipients of Franklin Medal]]