George Washington Gale Ferris Jr.(14 Feb. 1859-22 Nov. 1896) was a civil engineer/ construction engineer who invented the Ferris Wheel. George Ferris was born in Galesburg, Illinois to farmers, George Washington Gale Ferris Sr. and Martha Edgerton Hyde Ferris. He lived with his 4 sisters and 2 brothers. When Ferris 5 years old his family sold their farm and headed toward San Jose, California. Unfortunately in the middle of their journey they ran out of money and had to settle in Carson City. In Carson City they made a ranch and Ferris helped his father farm for 9 years before going to California Military Academy in 1873. In 1876 he graduated and applied for the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York to study civil engineering. …show more content…
Along with his studies he did many extracurricular activities like football, baseball, rifle teams and the Glee Club. After receiving his degree in 1881 he worked as an active engineer in railroad and bridge projects. He worked under General J.H. Ledlie, “a famous contractor who taught Ferris the ropes of real life engineering”(Ulizio, 2006). During this job Ferris moved around the country with railroad projects like building a tunnel and constructing a bridge. This job was really dangerous and required a lot of tax so he decided to resign from that job. Then in the late 1800s he joined the Kentucky and Indiana bridge Company of Louisville. There he got a job to test iron and steel for bridges. Since civil engineering took away a lot of time and energy from his life, he found some time to relax and enhance his social life. In 1886 Ferris fell in love with Margaret Ann Beatty of Canton, Ohio and they settled in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After getting married he developed his own company, “G. W. G. Ferris & Company, Inspecting Engineers” in Pennsylvania. With the help of James C. Hallsted, Ferris was able to successfully make his company. George Ferris’s company had success and it spread to vibrant cities like New York and Chicago. This company “conducted mill and factory work inspections and testing throughout the United States”(Adams-Volpe, 2002). After that he formed a second company, Ferris, Kaufman and Company. This company engineered a bridge which went across the Ohio River. Finally in 1892, the planning of the Chicago World's Columbian Exposition began. Daniel H. Burnham, the director of the World's Fair, challenged all of the civil engineers to create something that would rival the Eiffel Tower, which was displayed in the 1889 Paris Fair. It had to be unique, something that would engage the public, use of technology, and something original. Ferris planned out a structure that looked like a wheel and would hold passengers in it. His structure would let people riding in his creation to have a full bird's eye view of the city around them. Although the idea was good it was not safe and the World's Fair committee weren’t sure it was possible to make. Ferris worked ever harder and came up with the safety plans of the ride and they allowed him to make the wheel. Although the construction ran late making it open on month later, it attracted a lot of people. The Ferris Wheel was opened on June 21, 1893.
Ferris, his wife and the Mayor were the first ones to ride the wheel. People visiting the fairs were kind of scared to go but at the end everyone went on. The wheel was 264 feet above the MIdway and had a circumference of 825 feet. The wheel weighed 2.6 million pounds, the ale itself weighing more than forty-six tons. The wheel thirty-six closed cars which could hold more than forty passengers each time. The ride lasted twenty minutes and fifty cents at the time. Even people who couldn't afford to go on the ride watched it carefully as it went around. The Ferris Wheel was powered by two house 1,000-horsepower steam engines and it was light with more than 3000 light bulbs. The wheel was safe and it was center of attention at the fair that year. Until the fair lasted the wheel had more than a million passengers and it won the hearts of many people. This ferris wheel was the first example in technology that was “being harnessed purely as a pleasure machine, and it captured the imagination of a nation”(Adams-Volpe, 2002). During the Fair Ferris received a profit of approximately $750,000( approximately twenty million dollars today). Ferris got a lot of attention and fame for his design of the Ferris …show more content…
Wheel. After the fair closed many people started to copy Ferris’s design of the Wheel making their own.
He sued all them and received victory but in this process he lost a lot of money. He also sued the management of the world's fair because he wanted a share of the profits. However he lost the case and at the end he had lost a lot of money. When large amusement parks asked for the wheel Ferris rejected them and put his wheel in a small park. It only lasted a couple years after it was dynamited. After doing this he didn’t get any profit and was bankrupt. Infact because of all the money loss Ferris’s wife left him. Couple months later in 1896 George Ferris died at the age of
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I hope I have answered the question “What was his personal life like?” good in here and would like to summarize by saying that he was able to overcome all odds to become a famous inventor that even had a movie made by him. I would also like to say that He made many, many products that we still use all from simple plants like peanuts in summary to the answer of the question “What did he actually do?”. He also had many hobbies that ended up in helping many people (“What did he like to do when he wasn’t working?”). I have found that this man that I knew nothing about before the report is one of the few real life people I know of that overcame so many things in his life that almost no one even knows
In 1893 a world fair was held in Chicago Illinois to celebrate the 4thcentenniel of Columbus discovering the Americas. The exposition displayed grand buildings with beautiful architecture, hundreds of exhibits ranging from exotic tribes of Africa, to new inventions, expertly constructed landscape, and astounding attractions such as the first Ferris wheel. The fair lasted for six months and had over 27 million visitors, including ¼ of the American population.
At this time the United States was constructing massive amounts of railroad track that eventually grew to connect the entire country. The World’s Fair acted as a jumping off point for the creation of the railroad in some respects. For example, the powerful 999 steam train was presented at the World’s Fair. This train made fast train travel more accessible and ushered in the age of the locomotive. The quadricycle was another important invention that was present at the fair. The quadricycle was an extremely early iteration of an automobile. The quadricycle itself was not necessarily a huge step in history, but it was seen by the man who would go on to create the greatest advancement in automobile technology 20 years after the fair, Henry Ford. Henry Ford, of Ford Automobile fame, was inspired to create his revolutionary automobile design by the quadricycle. The quadricycle gave Ford an idea that changed the world, without the quadricycle Ford may not have gone into the auto industry and produced the first widely used automobiles. The quadricycle is indirectly responsible for one of the single most important inventions ever, the world would have been very different had the quadricycle not existed. The World’s Fair acted as a breeding ground for new ideas and inventions that went
Disneyland marked the onset of theme parks in the nation, which was carved out of a fantasy tale and it has been the leader for 60 years. And, there was virtually no competition to the attraction quotient that attracted people and tourists to visit the theme park.
Henry Ford, "the high priest of efficiency," was the tinkerer-craftsman who produced one of many horseless carriages, the automobile. Nearly three years after his only son was born in 1893, Ford succeeded in producing his first car. After months of vigorous work and two final sleepless nights, the Quadricycle tolled out of Ford's garage. The Quadricycle was a primitive machine, with a tiller for a steering wheel, bicycle tires, a bicycle seat and a bicycle chain to transfer the power of the engine to the wheels.
He’s the American architect who influenced architecture around the globe. He’s the individual who influenced the mindset of others. In addition, he was a writer and an educator that lectured the younger generations. The name of this man should have already crossed your mind. He is Frank Lloyd Wright, one of the best American architects. Wright was born on June 8, 1867, in Richland Center, Wisconsin. Even though he had many hardships in his life and struggled, he always had a goal. He once said, “…having a good start, not only do I fully intend to be the greatest architect who has yet lived, but fully intend to be the greatest architect who will ever live. Yes, I intend to be the greatest architect of all time.” Today, Wright is known around the world, especially from his masterpiece, Fallingwater. Fallingwater was designed by Wright in 1935. The engineers started building in 1936, and it was completed in 1939. The house was for built for Edgar J. Kaufmann Sr., a successful businessman. The building was located in Mill Run, Pennsylvania. Additionally, the building was named “best all-time work of American architecture” by the members of the American institute of Architects in 1991. Wright believed in designing architecture that was in accordance with humanity and its environment. He called this philosophy, organic architecture. Fallingwater was designed according to the organic architecture.
Benjamin Franklin’s inventions were as revolutionary as the century itself. Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston, Massachusetts January 17, 1706. Franklin grew up to be a great man who would help greatly in the creation of our nation. Although Ben Franklin is greatly known, not much attention is put into his great inventions; the Franklin stove, bifocals, and the mapping of the Gulf Stream where some of his inventions. Franklin’s inventions all had different impacts on the lives of people.
With a name like Walt Disney, it seems like you are expected to do great things and have your name known across America. From a young age, Walt Disney had an interest in all things animation. Growing up in a time where animation and TV was making its first appearances, Walt Disney wanted to be a part of the sensation. Striving and pushing forward with his natural talent of the creative arts and entertainment, Mr. Walt Disney became one of the most well-known entertainers that is mentioned all around the world. His great animation and artistic works but also with his world famous characters and popular theme parks, the first one, Disneyland, being built in Anaheim, California in 1955.
Henry Ford was born June 30, 1863 in Greenfield Township, Michigan or what is now Dearborn, Michigan. As a young boy Henry and a group of boys got together to build water wheels and steam engines. When Henry was sixteen he left his father’s farm to become an apprentice at Michigan Car Company he was a manufacturer for railroad cars in Detroit, Michigan. Three years later Henry came back home and he worked servicing and operating steam engines. In 1896 Henry moved to Detroit with his wife where he worked as an engineer for the Edison Electric Illuminating Company. He rose to chief engineer in 1896 and later that year he built the Quadricycle on June 4 in his workshop in his backyard.
Henry Ford was born in Michigan and was the first of William and Mary Ford's six children. With his great imagination, he was fascinated by technology and spent lots of time inspecting watches and trinkets to see how things worked. (Auto 2). Henry began constructing things at a very young age since he did not have much interest in school. Ford learned at a young age the importance of money but since he was so young he failed to understand that staying in school and getting a degree would get you a good job and in turn get you money. Ford thought that if he did not attend school during the day he could work and make more money. Although this is different from what many people think when they hear one of the biggest and most largely known entrepreneurs but it is true. Ford dropped out of the school at the age of fifteen and began working at a relative’s farm. In 1879, sixteen-year-old Ford left home for the nearby city of Detroit to work as an apprentice machinist, although he did occasionally return to help on the farm. He remained an apprentice for three years and then returned to Dearborn. During the next few years, Henry divided his time between operating and repairing steam engines, finding occasional work in a Detroit factory, and over-hauling his father's farm implements, as well as lending a reluctant hand with other farm work. Upon his marriage to Clara Bry...
Walt also added more disney characters to the films. Walt loved the idea of Disney characters so much that he wanted to bring them to life to make children and families happy. Walt came up with the idea of creating an amusement park with rides, disney characters, sweet treats,and art pieces. He called these two amusement parks Disneyland, Anaheim and Disney World, Florida Walt did this because he knew that these two amusement parks would make him well known and nobody would ever forget who this brilliant man is. Walt called Disneyland “the Happiest place on Earth.” (Watts 20). Walt called it this because he knew his guests would appreciate his handiwork so much by visiting Disneyland again with their friends, family and loved ones. Unfortunately, Walt did not get to finish creating Disney world, Walt had passed away with lung cancer at age 65 on December 15, 1966. “His brother Roy finished creating Disney World for him.” (Watts 50). Disney World had also become a popular theme park because of its Disney characters, animals and beautiful scenery. In today’s Society Fame means being famous because of something that is trending or being famous for what you created. For example, Walt Disney is famous for creating multiple Disney parks, Entrepreneurship, and Disney brands. Walt also became well known to everyone because he created Disney Brands that reminded us of our childhood. were really value Walt’s Disney brands, because it is what we look forward to purchasing as a gift or souvenir for a friend or for ourselves and makes us feel happy. For example whenever i go to Disneyland with my family, I always see people wearing mickey,and Minnie Mouse ears. Seeing this proves how much Disney brand grows on people. Everyone loves it so much that Wearing these ears and other type of Disney products makes us feel like we're a part of it. We wear his brand because we are in love with his amazing work so, we purchase his brand as a sign of appreciation that
Born July 30, 1863 in Dearborn, Michigan, Henry Ford was the first child of William and Mary Ford. As a young man he became an excellent self-taught mechanic and machinist. At age 16 he left the farm and went to nearby Detroit, a city that was becoming an industrial giant. There he worked as an apprentice at a machine shop, while months later he would begin work with steam engines at the Detroit Dry Dock Co., where he first saw the internal combustion engine, the kind of engine he would later use to make his automobiles.
I have always been fascinated by carnival rides. It amazes me that average, ordinary people eagerly trade in the serenity of the ground for the chance to be tossed through the air like vegetables in a food processor. It amazes me that at some time in history someone thought that people would enjoy this, and that person invented what must have been the first of these terrifying machines. For me, it is precisely the thrill and excitement of having survived the ride that keeps me coming back for more.
From Ancient Mesopotamia came a revolutionary tool that has crystallized the world into the complex civilization it is today, the wheel. The wheel has commutated the very way we live and think about the world and all credit goes to Ancient Mesopotamia for providing this life changing invention. Wheels are everywhere we look and in places that you wouldn't even think. Wheels are used everyday in some way or another and come in many sizes and innumerable different materials and purposes. This prodigious invention has helped ancient Mesopotamians work, move, and live and still helps us today.
There are many inventions of the future that people either know or hope will happen and some inventions that people have never thought that would happen in this or the next lifetime. For instance, one piece of future technology that I believe may come to pass is the invention of flying cars. Since the time of being young and watching the Jetsons, many people have been waiting to see the first flying car. While bringing up the idea of a flying car to a lot of people would seem absurd or downright impossible to some, I actually believe that it is very much so possible to create given how far technology has come in the past few decades. I think that it is a very logical conclusion to assume that at some point in the future engineers, car makers, and others will start to pursue other alternatives to avoiding traffic jams and other problems on the road, and instead begin to examine the possibilities of taking to the air as an alternative solution. There is much talk about it over the internet and many people would like to try flying cars. While it would greatly improve traffic for those that prefer staying on the ground, it may prove dangerous in the beginning because of accidents in the air with other cars, planes, trees, and buildings. Some would say though, that the convenience would outweigh the risks because there would not be traffic jams, or detours because of road work. These cars would need something like a GPS system and an anti-wrecking system so people would not run into each other or other objects (How Flying Cars Will Work).