George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr. (February 14, 1859 - November 22, 1896) was born in Galesburg, Illinois. He received his degree in engineering and worked as a civil engineer. He is most well known for inventing the Ferris Wheel, constructed for the 1893 Chicago World's Columbian Exposition in an attempt to create something as impressive as the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France.
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Biography
His family moved to Carson City, Nevada when Ferris was five years old. The family house in Carson City is on the historic tour list. His family later relocated to California, and Ferris attended high school in Oakland, California. He graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he was a Charter Member of the Chi Phi Fraternity, in the class of 1881 with a degree in Civil Engineering. After that, he began a career in the railroad industry and was interested in bridge building. He founded a company, G.W.G. Ferris & Co. in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to test and inspect metals for railroads and bridge builders. News of the World's Columbian Exhibition to be held in 1893, in Chicago, Illinois, drew Ferris to the city. In 1891, the directors of the World's Columbian Exposition issued a challenge to American engineers to conceive of a a monument for the fair that would surpass the Eiffel Tower, the great structure of the Paris International Exposition of 1889.[1] The planners wanted something "original, daring and unique." Ferris responded with a proposed wheel from which visitors would be able to view the entire exhibition. Ferris' project was so grandiose, he was quickly dismissed as unrealistic. Ferris persisted, he returned in a few weeks with several respectable endorsements from established engineers, and the committee agreed to allow construction to begin. Most convincingly, he had recruited several local investors to cover the $400,000 cost of construction. The wheel became an instant success when the fair opened. It is estimated that Ferris' wheel carried 1-1/2 million visitors, each paying 50 cents for a 20-minute ride. After the fair closed, Ferris claims that the Exhibition management had robbed him and his investors of their rightful portion of the nearly $750,000 profit that his wheel brought in. He spent the next two years in litigation, and died soon after.[2] George W.G. Ferris is a member of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Alumni Hall of Fame, inducted in September, 1998.[3] George W.G. Ferris is the Great Grand Uncle of robot collaborator Rob Ferris Gunning.
Ferris Wheel
The Ferris Wheel is a large amusement ride that is made of a giant, vertical, metal wheel that slowly turns around. The wheel is equipped with hanging compartments for people, who ride around in a circle, going far above the ground. The first Ferris wheel was opened on June 21, 1893 at the Chicago World's Fair. This Ferris wheel was 265 feet tall[2] - this is about the height of a 25 story building! It had 36 wooden cars that could each seat 40 people,[2] and hold another 20 standing people plus a conductor. Each car was 27 feet long, 13 feet wide, and 9 feet tall. A total of 2000 people could ride the wheel at one time. The wheel was powered by two 1,000 horsepower engines[2] and weighed over 4,000 tons. It cost 50 cents per ride. This same Ferris wheel was later used at the St. Louis exposition in 1904, but was scrapped in 1906. Ferris wheels are now common at amusement parks around the world - most are much smaller than the original.
References
- ^ Doodles Drafts and Designs. Industrial Drawings from the Smithsonian. Smithsonian Institute Libraries. Retrieved on 2007-12-22.
- ^ a b c d George Ferris. Inventor of the Week. Lemelson-MIT Program (May 1999). Retrieved on 2007-12-22.
- ^ Alumni Hall of Fame. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Retrieved on 2007-12-22.
