George Washington Whistler (Fort Wayne, Indiana, May 19, 1800 – April 7, 1849 in Saint Petersburg, Russia) was a prominent American railroad engineer in the first half of the 19th century. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York in 1819, and landed a job with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, which sent him to England to learn more about railroad technology. He was involved in the construction of several U.S. railroads, including the Baltimore and Susquehanna, Stonington, and the Western (Massachusetts) railroads. In 1835, along with William Gibbs McNeill, he designed the Boston & Providence Railroad which included the famous Canton Viaduct which is still in daily use. In 1842 Whistler was employed by Engineer Melnikov as a Consultant on the building of Russia's first major railroad, the Moscow-St. Petersburg line. While working on this project, he contracted cholera and died in St. Petersburg two years before the line was completed. He is credited with selecting the five-foot rail gauge still used in Russia and neighboring countries. Whistler's first wife, Mary R. Swift, died in 1827, after they had had three children, a girl and two boys. He later married Anna Matilda McNeill, with whom he had five sons. A portrait of Anna by their first son, James McNeill Whistler, is among the most famous paintings in American art. Stone arch railroad bridges built by George Washington Whistler in 1841 are still in freight and passenger service on the CSX mainline in western Massachusetts. He was the first to use contour lines to show elevation and relief on maps.
External links
- Biographical sketch at the Center for Whistler Studies
- George W. Whistler's Stone Arches
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Whistler, George Washington |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Whistler, George |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | railroad engineer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 19 1800 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Fort Wayne, Indiana |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 7 1849 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Saint Petersburg, Russia |
