Joachim Gotsche Giæver (15 August 1856 – 29 May 1925) was a Norwegian born, American civil engineer who designed major structures in the United States.

Biography

Joachim Gotsche Giæver was born at the village of Jøvik at

Lyngen Lyngen ( se, Ivggu suohkan; fkv, Yykeän komuuni) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Lyngseidet. Other villages include Furuflaten, Lattervika, Nord-Lenangen, ...

Troms Troms (; se, Romsa; fkv, Tromssa; fi, Tromssa) is a former county in northern Norway. On 1 January 2020 it was merged with the neighboring Finnmark county to create the new Troms og Finnmark county. This merger is expected to be reversed by t ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. He was the youngest of eight children born to Jens Holmboe Giæver (1813–1884) and Hanna Birgithe Holmboe (1821–1903). His father was a leader in the local fishing industry. Giæver entered the

Norwegian Institute of Technology The Norwegian Institute of Technology (Norwegian: ''Norges tekniske høgskole'', NTH) was a science institute in Trondheim, Norway. It was established in 1910, and existed as an independent technical university for 58 years, after which it was m ...

(''Trondhjems Tekniske Læreanstalt'') at

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

from which he was graduated in 1881 with the degree of Civil Engineer.

Genealogical entry
for Jens Holmboe Giæver (1813–1884)
- He migrated to the United States in 1882, where he found employment as a draftsman at Saint Paul and Pacific Railroad in

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center o ...

. In 1883, he went to

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, to work as a draftsman and later civil engineer for the Schiffler Bridge & Iron Co. where he designed several bridges over the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers. He was married in New York during 1883 to Louise C. Schmedling of Trondhjem, Norway. In 1886, he designed the structural framework for the

Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; French: ''La Liberté éclairant le monde'') is a List of colossal sculpture in situ, colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the U ...

(''Liberty Enlightening the World''). His work involved design computations, detailed fabrication and construction drawings, as well as oversight of construction. In completing his engineering for the statue’s frame, he worked from drawings and sketches produced by the designer,

Gustave Eiffel Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (born Bonickhausen dit Eiffel; ; ; 15 December 1832 – 27 December 1923) was a French civil engineer. A graduate of École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures, he made his name with various bridges for the French railway ...

. In 1891, he went to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

to become Assistant Chief Engineer of the

World’s Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The centerpiece of the Fair, hel ...

. In 1898, he became Chief Engineer for the firm of D. H. Burnham & Company, a position he held until 1915. In 1916, he entered into partnership with

Frederick P. Dinkelberg Frederick Philip Dinkelberg (June 30, 1858 – February 10, 1935) was an American architect best known for being Daniel Burnham's associate for the design of the Flatiron Building in New York City. Other important projects he worked on include, C ...

to form the architectural and engineering firm of Giaver and Dinkelberg. Later with the architect firm of Thielbar and Furgard; Giaver and Dinkleberg, he assisted with the design on the 35 East Wacker Building (also known as the Jewellers' Building) located in downtown Chicago. Designed during 1924 with construction finished during 1926, at the time it was America's largest building outside of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He was a trustee of the Norwegian American Hospital in Chicago, President of the

Chicago Norske Klub Chicago Norske Klub (1911 to 1971) was a Chicago, Illinois based Norwegian-American cultural and social organization. Background Chicago Norske Klub was founded in 1911 through the merger of two prior organizations which had dated to 1890, the Norw ...

and a member of the

American Society of Civil Engineers American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

. He was decorated as a Knight, 1st class of the

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav ( no, Den Kongelige Norske Sankt Olavs Orden; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II ...

in 1920. ''Chicago`s Proud Norwegian Heritage''
(Chicago Ttribune)

References

Other sources

* Bjork, Kenneth O. (1947) ''Saga in Steel and Concrete - Norwegian Engineers in America'' ( Northfield, Minnesota:

Norwegian-American Historical Association Norwegian-American Historical Association is a non-profit, member-supported organization dedicated to locating, collecting, preserving and interpreting the Norwegian-American experience. It publishes scholarly books and maintains a historical arc ...

) *Hines, Thomas S. (2008) ''Burnham of Chicago: Architect and Planner'' (University of Chicago Press) {{DEFAULTSORT:Giaever, Joachim 1856 births 1925 deaths People from Lyngen Norwegian emigrants to the United States American engineers Norwegian engineers Norwegian Institute of Technology alumni 19th-century American architects 20th-century American architects Chicago school architects Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal