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Leffert L Buck

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Nationality
  
American

Name
  
Leffert Buck


Role
  
Civil engineer

Leffert L. Buck

Born
  
February 5, 1837 (
1837-02-05
)
Canton, New York

Died
  
July 17, 1909, Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, United States

Education
  
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Structures
  
Williamsburg Bridge, Whirlpool Rapids Bridge, Niagara Falls Suspensi, Pont De Rennes bridge

Similar People
  
Henry Hornbostel, Charles Ellet - Jr, John A Roebling

Significant projects
  
Williamsburg Bridge

Leffert L. Buck (1837–1909) was an American civil engineer and a pioneer in the use of steel arch bridge structures. Leffert graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, in 1868. Some of his projects include:

  • The Verrugas Viaduct on the Oroya Railroad in Peru (in the early 1870s)
  • The Whirlpool Rapids Bridge over the Niagara Gorge
  • The Williamsburg Bridge, one of New York City's most notable landmarks, with Henry Hornbostel. At 1,600 feet it was the longest bridge in the world when completed in 1903 and a key factor in opening Brooklyn up as a working-class neighborhood for Manhattan. The bridge is well known for its vast reach and massive symmetry.
  • The Pont De Rennes bridge (former Platt Street bridge) that spans the Genesee River in Rochester at the High Falls.
  • Engineered the Queensboro Bridge in New York City.

    • Before earning his civil engineering degree from RPI, Buck fought for the Union Army in the American Civil War under General Slocum, participating in the battles at Antietam, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, Peachtree Creek, Resaca and Ringgold Gap.

    A dormitory in the Quadrangle complex at Rensselaer is named after him.

    References

    Leffert L. Buck Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA