Ralph Modjeski (born Rudolf Modrzejewski; ; January 27, 1861 – June 26, 1940) was a Polish-American

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...

who achieved prominence as "America's greatest bridge builder." He furthered the use of

suspension bridge A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck (bridge), deck is hung below suspension wire rope, cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridg ...

s and oversaw the design and construction of nearly forty bridges that spanned the great rivers of North America, as well as the development of new rail lines. In addition, he trained succeeding generations of American bridge designers and builders, including Joseph B. Strauss, chief engineer of

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

Golden Gate Bridge The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean in California, United States. The structure links San Francisco—the northern tip of the San Francisco Peni ...

(which was completed six months after Modjeski's

San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge The San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge, commonly referred to as the Bay Bridge, is a complex of bridges spanning San Francisco Bay in California. As part of Interstate 80 in California, Interstate 80 and the direct road between San Francisco an ...

Formative years and family

Modjeski was born in

Bochnia Bochnia is a town on the river Raba in southern Poland, administrative seat of Bochnia County in Lesser Poland Voivodeship. The town lies approximately halfway between Tarnów (east) and the regional capital Kraków (west). Bochnia is most noted ...

, in Galicia, on January 27, 1861, to Gustav Sinnmayer Modrzejewski and actress Helena Opid Modrzejewska (known outside Poland as Helena Modjeska). In 1865, his mother left Sinnmayer, and in 1868, she married Polish nobleman Karol Bożenta Chłapowski. In July 1876, they emigrated to America, where, as a matter of convenience, the boy's mother changed her name to Helena Modjeska and her son's name to Ralph Modjeski. He was a classmate of

Ignacy Jan Paderewski Ignacy Jan Paderewski (; r 1859– 29 June 1941) was a Polish pianist, composer and statesman who was a spokesman for Polish independence. In 1919, he was the nation's Prime Minister of Poland, prime minister and foreign minister durin ...

in Poland and was a formidable pianist in his own right. The son returned to Europe to study at ''l'Ecole des Ponts et Chaussées'' (the School of Bridges and Roads) in

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. It was in 1883, while studying at Paris, that he obtained American citizenship; however, he always maintained contact with Poland, wrote much in Polish, and emphasized his Polish origins. In 1885, he graduated from the School of Bridges and Roads at the top of his class. That same year, he married a cousin Felicie Benda; the couple had three children. They divorced in 1931 after a sixteen-year-long separation. That same year, the seventy-year-old Modjeski married Virginia Mary Giblyn. RalphModjeski1914

Career

After completing his academic training, Modjeski returned to America to begin his career, working first under the "father of American bridge-building," George S. Morison. In 1893, Modjeski opened his own design office in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. Joined in 1924 by Frank M. Masters Sr., the firm still exists as Modjeski & Masters. Modjeski's first project as chief engineer was the railroad bridge across the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

Rock Island, Illinois Rock Island is a city in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The population was 37,108 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located at the confluence of the Rock River (Mississippi River tributary), Rock a ...

. During his career, he served as chief or consulting engineer on dozens of bridges across the United States. He took over the mis-designed

Quebec Bridge The Quebec Bridge () is a road, rail, and pedestrian bridge across the lower Saint Lawrence River between Sainte-Foy, Quebec City, Sainte-Foy (a former suburb that in 2002 became the arrondissement Sainte-Foy–Sillery–Cap-Rouge in Quebec Cit ...

after the 1907 disaster that killed seventy-five workers, and succeeded in creating the longest truss span in the world (though a construction accident killed another thirteen workers). It is still the longest

cantilever bridge A cantilever bridge is a bridge built using structures that project horizontally into space, supported on only one end (called cantilevers). For small footbridges, the cantilevers may be simple beam (structure), beams; however, large cantilever ...

in the world. Modjeski was the recipient of numerous awards and honorary degrees. He received a doctorate in engineering from

Illinois State University Illinois State University (ISU) is a public research university in Normal, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University and is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teachin ...

in 1911, the

Franklin Medal The Franklin Medal was a science award presented from 1915 until 1997 by the Franklin Institute located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country ...

in 1923, a doctorate ''

honoris causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

'' from the Lwów Polytechnic in 1929, and the prestigious

John Fritz Medal The John Fritz Medal has been awarded annually since 1902 by the American Association of Engineering Societies (AAES) for "outstanding scientific or industrial achievements". The medal was created for the 80th birthday of John Fritz, who lived bet ...

in 1930. He was elected to the United States

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

in 1925 and the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

in 1926. In Modjeski's obituary, Frank Masters considered him "one of the world's leading bridge engineers." A PHMC Historical Marker was dedicated in 2007 in commemoration.

Death

He died on June 26, 1940, in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, nearly 80 years old. He was buried at the Ingelwood Eternity Mausoleum cemetery in crypt K-208.

Bridges

*Chief Engineer ** Government Bridge (1896) ** Thebes Bridge (1905) ** Burlington Northern Railroad Bridge 9.6, Bridge 8.8 and Bridge 5.1 (all 1906–08) **

(1907-1917) ** McKinley Bridge (1910) ** Celilo Bridge (1910) ** Crooked River Railroad Bridge (1911) **

Broadway Bridge (Portland, Oregon) The Broadway Bridge is a Rall-type bascule bridge spanning the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, Portland, Oregon, United States, built in 1913. It was Portland's first bascule bridge, and it continues to hold the distinction of being the lo ...

(1913) ** Metropolis Bridge (1914) ** Harahan Bridge (1916) ** Metropolis Bridge (1917) ** Mears Memorial Bridge (1923) **

Mid-Hudson Bridge The Franklin Delano Roosevelt Mid-Hudson Bridge is a toll bridge, toll suspension bridge which carries U.S. Highway 44, US 44 and New York State Route 55, NY 55 across the Hudson River between Poughkeepsie, New York, Poughkeepsie and Highland, U ...

aka Franklin Delano Roosevelt Mid-Hudson Bridge (1930) ** Benjamin Franklin Bridge (

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

and

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a City (New Jersey), city in Camden County, New Jersey, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan region. The city was incorporated on February 13, 1828.Snyder, John P''The Story of ...

(1926) ** Tacony-Palmyra Bridge (

and Palmyra, New Jersey) (1929) ** Wissahickon Memorial Bridge (

) (1931) ** I-74 Bridge aka the Moline to Bettendorf Veterans Memorial Bridge 1933 ** Huey P. Long Bridge (1935) **

Blue Water Bridge The Blue Water Bridge is a twin-span international bridge across the St. Clair River that links Port Huron, Michigan, United States, and Point Edward, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Water Bridge connects Highway 402 in Ontario with both Interst ...

(

Port Huron, Michigan Port Huron is a city in and seat of government of St. Clair County, Michigan, United States. The population was 28,983 at the 2020 census. The city is bordered on the west by Port Huron Township, but the two are administered autonomously. Po ...

and

Point Edward, Ontario Point Edward is a village in the Canadian province of Ontario. Adjacent to the city of Sarnia in Lambton County, Point Edward sits opposite Port Huron, Michigan and is connected to it by the Blue Water Bridge, at the meeting point of the St. C ...

, 1938) *Consulting Engineer **

Manhattan Bridge The Manhattan Bridge is a suspension bridge that crosses the East River in New York City, connecting Lower Manhattan at Canal Street with Downtown Brooklyn at the Flatbush Avenue Extension. Designed by Leon Moisseiff, the bridge has a tota ...

(1909) **

Market Street Bridge (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) The Market Street Bridge is a stone arch bridge that spans the Susquehanna River between Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and Wormleysburg, Pennsylvania. The current structure is the third bridge built at its current location and is the second oldest ...

(1926) **

Ambassador Bridge The Ambassador Bridge is an international suspension bridge across the Detroit River that connects Detroit, Detroit, Michigan, United States, with Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1929, the toll bridge is the busiest international border cros ...

(

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, and

Windsor, Ontario Windsor ( ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is situated on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from the U.S city of Detroit, Detroit, Michigan. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Esse ...

, 1929) ** George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge (1929) ** McPhaul Suspension Bridge (1929) **

(1936)

References

External links

BRIDGING URBAN AMERICA, A STORY OF RALPH MODJESKI
a documentary film
Ralph Modjeski
on the ASCEbr>History and Heritage of Civil Engineering website
*

, includes a brief resume * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Modjeski, Ralph 1861 births 1940 deaths People from Bochnia Emigrants from Austria-Hungary to the United States Polish engineers American civil engineers American bridge engineers Illinois State University alumni Howard N. Potts Medal recipients John Fritz Medal recipients Members of the American Philosophical Society Recipients of Franklin Medal