George Washington Goethals

George Washington Goethals (/ˈɡoʊθəlz/ GOH-thəlz;[citation needed] June 29, 1858 – January 21, 1928) was a United States Army officer and civil engineer, best known for his administration and supervision of the construction and the opening of the Panama Canal. The Goethals Bridge between Staten Island, New York City and Elizabeth, New Jersey is named in his honor, as is the Goethals Medal and the troop ship USNS George W. Goethals (T-AP-182).

Contents

•1 Biography

•2 Legacy

•3 In popular culture

•4 See also

•5 References

•6 Further reading

•7 External links

Biography[edit]

Goethals was born in Brooklyn, New York to Flemish immigrants from Stekene, Belgium[1][2][3] Johannes Baptista (John Louis) Goethals, a carpenter, and wife Marie Le Barron. Aged 14, he entered the College of the City of New York. In April 1876, after three years of college, he won an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point. He graduated second in his class in 1880,[3] and was commissioned as second lieutenant in the Army Corps of Engineers

Goethals remained at the military academy during the summer and fall of 1880 as an assistant instructor in practical astronomy. In 1881 he attended the Engineer School of Application at Willets Point, New York. His first field assignment came in 1882 with his appointment as engineer officer of the Department of Columbia in Vancouver, Washington.[3] His routine duties included reconnaissance, surveys, and astronomical work, while his most consequential project was the replacement of a 120-foot bridge across the Spokane River.

In 1884,he married Effie Rodman; they had two sons.[3] From 1885 to 1889 he taught civil and military engineering at West Point. He returned to the field in 1889 to assist Colonel John W. Barlow with navigational improvements on the Cumberland and Tennessee rivers.

While an instructor at West Point Goethals agreed to tutor Charles Young, the third African-American graduate of West Point; Young had failed an engineering class but – after being tutored by Goethals – passed and graduated in 1889.[4]

In 1891 Goethals was promoted to captain. He soon was placed in charge of the completion of the Muscle Shoals Canal along the Tennessee River near Florence, Alabama.[3] This was his first independent command, and his responsibilities included the design and construction of the Riverton Lock at Colbert Shoals.[citation needed] His recommendation of a single lock with an unprecedented lift of twenty-six feet was initially opposed by his superiors in Washington, and he was forced to persuade the conservative army engineers of the merits of his design. The lock's successful construction set a world record for lock height.[3] The success of the Riverton Lock inspired the eventual adoption of high-lift locks elsewhere, including those for the Panama Canal.

During the Spanish-American War, he was lieutenant colonel and chief of engineers of United States Volunteers.[citation

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