Oleg Aleksandrovich Kerensky CBE FRS (russian: Оле́г Алекса́ндрович Ке́ренский), (16 April 1905 – 25 June 1984) was a Russian civil engineer, one of the foremost bridge designers of his time. Kerensky was born in St. Petersburg,

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...

, the son of future Russian prime minister

Alexander Kerensky Alexander Fyodorovich Kerensky, ; original spelling: ( – 11 June 1970) was a Russian lawyer and revolutionary who led the Russian Provisional Government and the short-lived Russian Republic for three months from late July to early Novem ...

, who survived the events of the

Russian Civil War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Russian Civil War , partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I , image = , caption = Clockwise from top left: {{flatlist, *Soldiers ...

and emigrated to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

in 1918. Both Oleg and his younger brother Gleb graduated as engineers in 1927, and both settled in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

. As an associate of

Dorman Long Dorman Long & Co was a UK steel producer, later diversifying into bridge building. It was once listed on the London Stock Exchange. History The company was founded by Arthur Dorman and Albert de Lande Long when they acquired ''West Marsh I ...

, Kerensky assisted on the landmark 1932

Sydney Harbour Bridge The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge in Sydney, spanning Port Jackson, Sydney Harbour from the Sydney central business district, central business district (CBD) to the North Shore (Sydney), North Shore. The view of the bridg ...

. As an associate, and then a partner, in the firm Freeman Fox & Partners, Kerensky designed many British road bridges and structures such as the 1951 temporary Dome of Discovery in London, the largest dome in the world. He was president of the

Institution of Structural Engineers The Institution of Structural Engineers is a professional body for structural engineering based in the United Kingdom. The Institution has over 30,000 members operating in over 100 countries. The Institution provides professional accreditation ...

in 1970–71 and won their Gold Medal in 1977. After his death in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, the same institution began their Kerensky Memorial Conferences beginning in 1988. He was made a

C.B.E. The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in 1964 and was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemati ...

in 1970. Kerensky was the father and namesake of dance critic Oleg Kerensky, Jr (1930–1993). Oleg Junior was in the 1981 film '' Reds'' portraying his grandfather when he was the head of the

Russian Provisional Government The Russian Provisional Government ( rus, Временное правительство России, Vremennoye pravitel'stvo Rossii) was a provisional government of the Russian Republic, announced two days before and established immediately ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerensky, Oleg 1905 births 1984 deaths Bridge engineers British civil engineers Russian civil engineers IStructE Gold Medal winners Presidents of the Institution of Structural Engineers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the Royal Society White Russian emigrants to France Children of national leaders Burials at Putney Vale Cemetery