The History of the Early
Engineering Disciplines
Engineering your Future
Chapter 2
Part One
The History of Civil Engineering
Boundaries and Surveys
• Need for boundaries and surveys precipitated civil
engineering as we know
• Surveyors
▫ Noted and marked foundations of monuments
▫ Dividing land into parcels
• Egyptians used surveying to predict Nile River
flood waters
• Romans learned from Egyptians and Greeks the
importance of surveying
▫ Aqueducts and roads designed from surveying
methods
Arabic people & the astrolabe
• Astrolabe - Fixed surveying method linked to the
stars
• Arabic people developed proficiency with the
astrolabe after the fall of the Roman Empire
• Arabic culture also responsible for:
▫ Development of Trigonometry
▫ Practice of triangulation to achieve accuracy
Recognition
• Civil engineering named to distinguish
between military and other engineers
• Europe and U.S. recognized those who
completed large-scale projects as “civil
engineers” (18th Century)
• 1782 - John Smeaton of England molded
himself as a Civil Engineer
• 1793 - Society of Civil Engineers created
in England
▫ 1818 - Named changed to Institution of
Civil Engineers
United States Societies of Civil
Engineering
• Franklin Institute in
Philadelphia (1824)
Annual meeting, ASCE
Deer Park Hotel, Deer Park, MD, 1885
▫ Informal society of
engineers
• American Society of Civil
Engineers (ASCE)
▫ Formed November 5,
1852
▫ Present and active today
www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/SciRefGuides/
engineersociety.html
Bridges
Manhattan Bridge - New York, NY
http://www.pierluigisurace.it/imagerie/aatw0058.htm
Three Classes of Bridges
Arched Bridge
• Beam Bridge
• Suspension Bridge
• Arched Bridge
Beam Bridge
http://www.walkingbritain.co.uk/walks/walks1/w001d.shtml
Suspension Bridge
http://education.sdsc.edu/enrich/brid.html
http://www.photo.net/photo/pcd3448/golden-gate-bridge-94
History of Bridges
• 2000 B.C.
▫ Wooden timber beams built on stone pillars
▫ Spanned over the Euphrates River
▫ Commissioned by Queen Semiramis for Babylon,
suggesting practice was common
• 300 B.C.
▫ Golden Era Roman stone-arch bridges
▫ 250 B.C. saw Greek “invention” of wood truss
• 610 A.D.
▫ Zhaozhou (Ali) Bridge constructed
▫ World’s oldest known open-spandrel stone-arch bridge
Frankford Avenue Bridge
Frankford Avenue Bridge
Philadelphia, PA
http://www.asce-philly.org/achievements05.asp
• Spans Pennypack Creek
in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania
• Constructed in 1697
• First known stone arch
bridge in U.S.
• Still being used today
Sewall’s Bridge
• First known pile supported
highway bridge
• Built over the York River in
York, Maine
• Piles driven into river
bottom by dropping oak
logs while standing them in
place
• Replaced in 1934
Sewall’s Bridge
York, Maine
http://www.maine.gov/mdot-stage/
covered-bridges/sewalls.php
Iron Bridge
• World’s first all-metal
bridge built of cast iron
• Designed by Abraham
Darby III
• Spans Severn River near
Coalbrookdale, England
• Main span - 30.5 m
• Total length - 60 m
• Weight - 378.5 tons
Iron Bridge
Coalbrookdale, England
http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Iron_
Bridge_at_Coalbrookdale.html
Jacob’s Creek Bridge
• World’s first modern suspension bridge
• Located on the road between Uniontown,
Pennsylvania and Greensburg, Pennsylvania
• Designed and built by James Finley for $600 in
1801
• Bridge demolished 1833, five years after Finley
had passed away in Uniontown
Dams
Hoover Dam
http://www.intermind.net/im/boulder.html
Factors to take into account
• Strong enough to resist
reservoir water backed
behind dam
• Impervious to water
Failure of Teton Dam
Rexburg, Idaho
$1 billion in damages
▫ Resists leaks and erosion
• Water cannot find way
into dam
• Accommodates overflow
http://web.umr.edu/~rogersda/dams/
Roads
Route 66 - Arizona
http://www.bekkoame.ne.jp/~toisa/wp/wp.html
Evolution of Roads
• Markings used to designate paths to desired
destinations
• Invention of wheel brought on roadways
• Evolved from dirt roads into paved surfaces with
drainage systems to divert water off of them
Paved Roads History
• 3000 B.C. - the Herappa and Mohenjo-Daro
civilizations in the Indus valley developed paved
roads with drainage systems underneath
pavement
• 2500 B.C. - Lake Moeris Quarry Road
▫ World’s oldest paved road
▫ Was eight miles long (only 4 miles remain)
Those Romans…
• 312 B.C. - Road from
Rome to Capula
▫ 130 miles
• 144 B.C. - First high-level
aqueduct
▫ Hydraulic cement
introduced in design
• Over 372 roads
constructed with a
combined distance of
53,000 miles
• Roadways suffered with
retreat from Britain
Roman road
cut into Italian Mountain
http://www.unc.edu/courses/rometech/public/cont
ent/transport/Adam_Pawluk/Contruction_and_Ma
keup_of_.htm
Roads considered a value??
• 600 years after Britain invasion retreat, Norman
invasion showed roads are considerable value
• The church maintained roadways and
constructed inns and places of rest
• Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries with his
self-appointed Supreme Head of Church of
England in 1534
El Camino Real
Marker on El Camino Real
• 1500’s Spaniards and
Colonials developed first
inland transportation
route into U.S.
• Original use for political
and military use only
• Beginning of interstate
highway system
http://www.rootsweb.com/~txrober2/Ghostly
HauntsCollection.htm
Tunnels
Channel Tunnel Boring Machine
http://www.lemleyandassociates.com/
History of Tunnels
• 600 B.C. - Samos Aqueduct Tunnel
▫ Water supply routed through a hill on Greek
island
• Persian and Armenian tunnels in Iran brought
water to towns in the 8th century
• By 17th century, tunnels widely used to route
canals through hills rather than around
Tunnel History cont.
Marc Isambard Brunel
(1769 - 1849)
http://web.ukonline.co.uk/b.gardner/brunel/marcb
run.html
• Marc Isambard
Brunel developed a
shield for boring
under the Thames
River in 1820
• Dual tunnels run
1200 yards
• Completed in 1841
• First time tunnel cut
under a body of
water
Alfred Nobel’s Dynamite
• Most significant advancement in tunneling
• Alfred Nobel born in 1833 in Stockholm,
Sweden to a family of engineers
• Father sent him abroad to learn about
chemical engineering to expand horizons
• Alfred returned and concentrated on
nitroglycerine as explosive
• Brother and several others killed in an
explosion
Alfred Nobel cont.
Alfred Nobel
• Nitroglycerine banned from
Stockholm city limits
• 1864 found way to handle
explosive safe
• Nobel built labs and
companies in more than 20
countries
• Holds more than 350 patents
• Immense fortune amassed
• Nobel Prize founder in will
http://www.britannica.com/nobel/alfrednobel.html
Water Supply and Control
Panama Canal under maintenance
http://www.photoatlas.com/pics02/pictures_of_panama_73.html
Definitions
• Dams - barriers constructed across a waterway to control
the flow or raise the level of water
• Aqueducts - pipes or channels designed to transport
water from a remote source
▫ Usually takes advantage of gravity
▫ Bridge-like structures support a conduit or canal passing
over a river or low ground
• Canals - artificial waterways or artificially improved
rivers used for travel, shipping, or irrigation
Part 2
The History of Industrial
Engineers
Industrial Engineering
• International commerce increases brought about
an increase of competition amongst suppliers
• Main role is to combine workers, machines, and
materials in order to increase productivity and
reduce waste
• Philosophy traced back to tribal cultures
▫ Created more efficient tools and made best of
everyone’s specific skills
First Mechanically-Assisted Cutting
Device• Rocking drill that was cord driven
• Assistant needed to manipulate cord in
order to give alternating rotary
movement
• Earliest illustration of lathe found in
Egyptian tomb of Petosiris
Pole Lathe
• Developed in 12th century
• Size and complexity of work to be done
increased, bringing the invention about
• Designed with heavier wooden construction to
be more rigid and powerful than previous
designs
• Continuous drive machine with a large wheel
cranked by an assistant created to turn metal
Pole Lathe Examples
• 1500 - Leonardo da
Vinci’s treadle and
crankshaft
• Spaichel’s development
in 1561 using human
power
• Alternate power supplies
developed
▫
▫
▫
▫
Horse gins
Water wheels
Steam engines
Electric motors
Great Wheel Lathe
http://www.turners.org/Articles/lathehistory.html
1700 - mid 1800s Machines
• John Wilkinson’s cylinder boring mill of 1776
▫ Father of the industrial revolution
• Henry Maudslay’s workshops
▫ Produced machine tools, lathes, and special
purpose machines
▫ Trained other great engineers
1700 - mid 1800s Machines
• Richard Roberts planing lathe and large lathe
with a back gear that allowed for spindle speed
changes (1817)
• Automatic spinning mule and differential gear
from 1825
Part 3
History of Mechanical
Engineering
Brief Overview
• Coke replacing charcoal in England in early
1700s brought upon the beginning of modern
mechanical engineering
• Industrial Revolution began due to
advancements in producing wrought iron
• Machines developed to make use of mass
produced steel
• Mechanical Engineering recognized as
profession in England in 1847 and U.S. after
1850
Boats
The New Orleans arriving at namesake (1812)
http://www.tulsaweb.com/port/history2.htm
Steam Engines
Watt’s Engine
• James Watt developed
new model steam engine
in 1778
▫ Engine cooled steam in a
condenser separate from
the main cylinder
• Spurred the application
of steam to water, land,
and air
http://www.history.rochester.edu/steam/thurston/
1878/Chapter3.html
Steam Powered Ships
1907 Clermont replica
http://www.ulster.net/~hrmm/quad/1909hudsonf
ulton/chapter08.html
• Easiest to implement the
steam engines
• Robert Fulton developed
combination of Watt
Steam engine to
improved hull design
• Clermont steamboat
financial success from
first Hudson river run in
1807
Trains
http://www.watercressline.co.uk/
First to use steam on land
• Weight and size of boilers overcome by use of
high pressure boilers and iron rails
• Initial designs used in mines and ironworks
• First steam-powered locomotive ran in South
Wales in 1804
• First passenger train built from Stockton to
Darlington opened in 1825
1829 Competition
• Rail line between Liverpool and Manchester
• Each locomotive must consume own smoke,
haul a load equal to 3 times its own weight and
travel at an average speed of not less than 10
mph
“The Perseverance”
The Perseverance,
The Mechanics Magazine (1829)
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/RArainhill.htm
• Timothy Burstall design
• Vertical boiler with
furnace beside it
• Fuel fed to fire by hopper
on top
• Attained maximum speed
of 6 mph
“Sans Pareil”
Sans Pareil
• Design and built by
Timothy Hackworth
• Two-cylinder engine
• Ran for 27 miles
• Average speed of 14 mph
• Maximum speed of 17
mph
• 14.3 tons hauled
• Boiler feed pump failed
often
http://hex.oucs.ox.ac.uk/~rejs/photos/A40/York/nrm/
“Rocket”
• George Stephenson
design and built
• Traveled 70 miles
• Avg. speed - 15 mph
• Max. speed - 29 mph
• Set bar for all future
locomotive designs
• Won $500 prize for
competition
1979 Rocket replica
http://hex.oucs.ox.ac.uk/~rejs/photos/A40/York/nrm/
Early Road Transportation
www.blueskyranches.com/
Chariots
• Used in warfare by
Middle Eastern nations
• Handed down to Romans
and Greeks
Modern Day Chariot Race
▫ Chariots had either two
or four wheel
• Used primarily for
transportation of goods
• 770 B.C. saw advent of
chariot races
http://www.gt40.co.uk/gt40lm03.html
Romans and Britain
• Romans invaded Britain two times before
succeeding in 43 A.D.
• Many transportation techniques introduced and
groundwork laid for roadways
• Collapse of Roman Empire control in Britain
saw end of roadways as main source of travel
• Horseback way to travel after 410 A.D.
Carriages and Coaches
Carriage ride in Central Park
• British imports between
1550 and 1600 A.D.
• Confined as baggage
travel between towns for
the rich
http://www.galenfrysinger.com/horse_carriages_n
ew_york_city.htm
Post Office Act of 1765
• Mail had to be transported at a rate of at least 6
mph
• Mail coaches began to be regularly used starting
in 1784
• Mode of transportation did not change much in
years to come
• Problem solving and re-engineering lead to
overall improvement in speed, punctuality and
service to customers
Early Automobile
http://photos.nondot.org/2001-10-03-Ohio-Trip/2001-10-12%20%20Indianapolis%20Race%20Museum/index2.html
Nicolas Joseph Cugnot
• 1769, invented a military gun-carriage tractor
used to haul artillery for the French army
• Three wheeled steam-powered tractor traveled
at 2.5 mph
• Frequent stops for boiler to build up pressure to
power drive wheels
• French unimpressed from slow vehicle and
frequent stops made
• Successful tricycle that carried four passengers
developed in 1770
James Watt
• Developed reputation as
high-quality engineer
• In 1763, he was sent a
Newcome steam engine
for repairs
• Rebuilt and made engine
more efficient
• Sold these improved
engines for 11 years
James Watt’s Workshop
http://www.history.rochester.edu/steam/thurston/
1878/Chapter3.html
William Murdock
Murdock’s innovation
www.birmingham-photos.co.uk
• James Watt’s staff
engineer
• Developed a threewheeled steam-driven
vehicle that was much
lighter than Cugnot’s in
1785
• Watt fired Murdock
because of too much time
spent on project
The Bicycle
http://leapfrog-entertainment.com/Artists/Big/JustinCase/JustinCase.htm
“Dandy Horse”
• 1817 was first prototype
of bicycle
• Developed by Baron Karl
Drais von Sauerbronn of
Manheim
• “Father of Bicycle”
• Gained popularity due to
novelty purposes, not
practical uses
Dandy Horse
http://www.cycle-info.bpaj.or.jp/english/learn/bcc02.html
First Pedal-Powered Bicycle
MacMillan Velocipede
http://www.cycle-info.bpaj.or.jp/english/learn/bcc02.html
• Kirkpatirck MacMillian, a
blacksmith invented
• Pedals powered back
wheel and steering done
on front
• Wheels mounted on
brass bearings, saddle
seats, ran on iron tyred
wooden wheels
“Boneshaker”
• Pierre Michaux of Paris’
variance of a velocipede in
1860
• Frame made of wrought iron,
pedals mounted in line with
front wheel and axle, and
friction shoe on rear tire to
slow
• Sold for $13
• First two-wheeled bicycle
actually caught on for practical
use
Boneshaker
http://www.museumsnett.no/ntm/no/samlingene/sy
kler/forside.htm