James Laurie
1811 - 1875
American Civil Engineer
Born in Edinburgh, he emigrated to the USA and eventually became a co-founder and the first President of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
1811 Born at Bell's Quarry near Edinburgh on 9 May 1811. Until 1832 he was apprenticed in an office that made mathematical and engineering instruments in Bells Quarry. In 1832, along with James Pugh Kirkwood, he emigrated to the USA. They initially both worked as engineers for the Norwich & Worchester Railroad in Boston, Massachusetts .....
For a comprehensive summary of Laurie's career, see his ASCE Biography[1]
As chief engineer for the New Haven, Hartford and Springfield Railroad from 1861 - 1866, he designed the Warehouse Point Bridge (USA) crossing the Connecticut River. It was 1525 ft long, with 17 spans. Plate girders were used for the short spans, and Whipple trusses for longer spans[2]. Due to the pressure of work on US contractors during the Civil War, the contract for the ironwork construction and erection was placed with William Fairbairn and Sons.