George S. Morison (engineer)

George Shattuck Morison (December 19, 1842 - July 1, 1903) was trained to be a lawyer, but became an engineer and bridge designer. He was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts. At age 14 he entered Phillips Exeter Academy and graduated by age 16. He went on to Harvard College where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1863 when he was just 20. After a brief break he attended Harvard Law School where he would receive a Bachelor of Laws degree by 1866 and was admitted to the New York Bar. In 1867, with only general mathematics training and an aptitude for mechanics, he abandoned the practice of law and pursued a career as a civil engineer and builder of bridges. He would apprentice under the supervision of engineer Octave Chanute during the construction of the first bridge to cross the Missouri River, the swing-span Kansas City Bridge.

He is know for many steel truss bridges he designed including several crossing the Missouri River, Ohio River and the Mississippi River. The 1892, Memphis Bridge is considered to be his crowning achievement as it was the largest bridge he would design and the first bridge to span the difficult Lower Mississippi River.

Morison was a member of several important engineering committees, the most important of which was the Isthmus Canal Commission. He was instrumental in changing the recommendation of its location from Nicaragua to Panama.

ee also

*Burlington Rail Bridge
*Frisco Bridge
*Taft Bridge
*Alton Bridge [http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/hhh.il0474]

References

* [http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/hhh.ne0042 Historic American Engineering Record (Library of Congress)] - Survey number HAER NE-2. 500+ data pages discuss Chief Engineer George S. Morison and his many bridges

External links

* [http://bridges.midwestplaces.com/browse/by/builder/morison/ Midwest bridges by Morison]
* - Partial listing of Morison's Bridges
* [http://www.pancanal.com/eng/history/history/american.html Story of Morison's fight for the Panama location]
* [http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/it/1986/2/1986_2_34_print.shtml Personal stories by a descendant]