Christiaan Brunings (

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's ...

-Neckarau, 3 November 1736 –

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

, 16 May 1805) was a Dutch

hydraulic engineer Hydraulic engineering as a sub-discipline of civil engineering is concerned with the flow and conveyance of fluids, principally water and sewage. One feature of these systems is the extensive use of gravity as the motive force to cause the mov ...

Early life

Brunings was the son of a preacher in

-Neckarau in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. After high school he attended the

University of Heidelberg } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

. He had to break off his studies for lack of money and found work in the

vinegar Vinegar is an aqueous solution of acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains 5–8% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting simple sugars to eth ...

works of his brother in the Netherlands. Here he met Jan Noppen (1706-1764), superintendent of the ''

Hoogheemraadschap van Rijnland The Hoogheemraadschap van Rijnland is the oldest water authority in the Netherlands, having received commission to coordinate protection of the land from flooding in 1248 from Count William II of Holland and Zeeland. The council conducts surface ...

'' (

Rijnland The name ''Rijnland'' (alternative historical spellings: ''Rhijnland'', ''Rhynland'', ''Rynland''; Latin ''Rhenolandia'') means "Rhineland" in Dutch. When referring to the Rhine in Germany, "Rijnland" has the same meaning as "Rhineland" in English o ...

Water Board). He was Brunings' mentor and taught him music, mathematics, physics, astronomy and engineering. After the death of Noppen, Brunings succeeded him on 25 May 1765 in his function.

Work

In 1769 Brunings became Inspector General of the Government Rivers, giving more attention to water management of the upper rivers. In 1798 he was appointed head of the ''Bureau voor den Waterstaat'' (Office of Public Works), the forerunner of the ''

Rijkswaterstaat Rijkswaterstaat, founded in 1798 as the ''Bureau voor den Waterstaat'' and formerly translated to Directorate General for Public Works and Water Management, is a Directorate-General of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management of the Net ...

''. Brunings spent more than thirty years as head of Dutch public works, from 1800 as Inspector-General of the Public Works of the Batavian Republic; from 1803 as Director of the country's river and sea works. Brunings played an important role in the negotiations between

Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the S ...

King in Prussia King ''in'' Prussia (German: ''König in Preußen'') was a title used by the Prussian kings (also in personal union Electors of Brandenburg) from 1701 to 1772. Subsequently, they used the title King ''of'' Prussia (''König von Preußen''). Th ...

, and the provinces of

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

and

Gelderland Gelderland (), also known as Guelders () in English, is a province of the Netherlands, occupying the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Netherlands by land area, and second by ...

on the distribution of water from the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

in the

Waal WAAL (99.1 FM "The Whale") is a commercial radio station licensed to Binghamton, New York. It airs a classic rock radio format and is owned by Townsquare Media. WAAL is the oldest FM radio station in the Binghamton metropolitan area. It is an ...

Lower Rhine The Lower Rhine (german: Niederrhein; kilometres 660 to 1,033 of the river Rhine) flows from Bonn, Germany, to the North Sea at Hook of Holland, Netherlands (including the Nederrijn or "Nether Rhine" within the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta); al ...

and

IJssel The IJssel (; nds-nl, Iessel(t) ) is a Dutch distributary of the river Rhine that flows northward and ultimately discharges into the IJsselmeer (before the 1932 completion of the Afsluitdijk known as the Zuiderzee), a North Sea natural harbour. ...

. After 22 years of negotiations a treaty was signed in 1771 on the Rhine water distribution, which meant a first step in international water management consulting business. He was also involved in improving the dikes along the Rhine to help prevent damaging floods. Brunings is also known for the invention of an instrument for measuring water flow. In 1789 he published a detailed practical treatise on river flow including an account of his and other water-flow meters. In his house, "Zwanenburg", in

Halfweg Halfweg () is a village in the Dutch province of North Holland. Previously a part of the municipality of Haarlemmerliede en Spaarnwoude, it is currently a part of the municipality of Haarlemmermeer and lies about east of Haarlem. Its name, whic ...

he conducted meteorological observations, following a tradition established by Noppen.

Legacy

The significance of Brunings for the development of Dutch water management is clear from his tomb in

Sint-Bavokerk The Grote Kerk or St.-Bavokerk is a Reformed Protestant church and former Catholic cathedral located on the central market square ( Grote Markt) in the Dutch city of Haarlem. Another Haarlem church called the Cathedral of Saint Bavo now serves ...

in Haarlem, "''Nederlands Raad en Beschermer tegen de Woede der Zee en der Stormen''" ("Dutch counsel and protector against the anger of the sea and storms"), a statement of his disciple and successor, Frederik Willem Conrad, who published the first biography of him in 1827. In 1900 a new steam

icebreaker An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller ...

for the ''Rijkswaterstaat'' was named after him. Th
SS ''Christian Brunings''
has since 1968 been part of the collection of museum ships belonging to the ''

Nederlands Scheepvaartmuseum The National Maritime Museum ( nl, Het Scheepvaartmuseum, ) is a maritime museum in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The museum had 419,060 visitors in 2012. It ranked as 11th most visited museum in the Netherlands in 2013. The museum had 300,0 ...

'' in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brunings, Christiaan 1736 births 1805 deaths Engineers from Mannheim Hydraulic engineers Dutch civil engineers Members of Teylers Tweede Genootschap