Othmar Ammann (March 26, 1879 - September 22, 1965) was a renowned civil engineer whose designs include: March 26 is the 85th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (86th in leap years). ... 1879 (MDCCCLXXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... September 22 is the 265th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (266th in leap years). ... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ... The term civil engineer refers to an individual who practices civil engineering. ...

• George Washington Bridge (opened October 24, 1931)
• Bayonne Bridge (opened November 15, 1931)
• Bronx-Whitestone Bridge (opened April 29, 1939)
• Throg's Neck Bridge (opened January 11, 1961)
• Verrazano Narrows Bridge (opened November 21, 1964)

Othmar Ammann was born in Schaffhausen, Switzerland in 1879. He received his engineering education at the Polytechnikum in Zürich, Switzerland. Polytechnikum is considered by many to be one of Europe's premier universities. In 1904, he emigrated to the United States, spending his career working mostly in New York City. In 1905 he briefly returned to Switzerland to marry Lilly Selma Wehril. Together they had 3 children- Werner, George, and Margaret- before she died in 1933. In 1924, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States. He then married Karly Vogt Noetzli in 1935 in California. It was a report that he wrote about the failure of the Quebec City Bridge in 1907 that first earned him recognition in the field of bridge design engineering. It was because of this report that he was able to obtain a possition working for Gustav Lindenthal on the Hell Gate Railroad bridge. By 1925 had been appointed bridge engineer to the New York Port Authority and his design for a bridge over the Hudson River had been accepted in preference to one developed by Lindenthal. Ultimately, this became the George Washington Bridge. Under Ammann's direction, it was completed six months ahead of schedule for less than the original $60 million budget. In 1946, Ammann and Charles Whitney founded the firm Ammann & Whitney. In 1964, Ammann opened the Verrazano Narrows Bridge in New York that had the worlds longest suspended span of 4,260ft and the worlds heaviest suspension bridge of its time. The Verrazano Narrows Bridge is currently the eight longest of all time. Ammann also assisted in the building of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, which is currently the ninth longest bridge of all time. George Washington Bridge, Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) collections. ... October 24 is the 297th day of the year (298th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 68 days remaining. ... 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link is to a full 1931 calendar). ... The Bayonne Bridge, as seen from Port Richmond, Staten Island The Bayonne Bridge is the third longest steel arch bridge in the world. ... November 15 is the 319th day of the year (320th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 46 days remaining. ... 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link is to a full 1931 calendar). ... Aerial view of the Bronx Whitestone Bridge The Bronx Whitestone Bridge is a suspension bridge that crosses the East River and connects the boroughs of Queens and The Bronx. ... April 29 is the 119th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (120th in leap years). ... 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Aerial view of the Throgs Neck Bridge The Throgs Neck Bridge is a suspension bridge opened on January 11, 1961 that carries Interstate 295 and connects the Throgs Neck section of the Bronx with the Bayside section of Queens. ... January 11 is the 11th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ... The Verrazano Narrows Bridge (properly written as the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge) is a suspension bridge that connects the boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn in New York City at the Narrows, the reach connecting the relatively protected upper bay with the larger lower bay. ... November 21 is the 325th day of the year (326th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... For the Nintendo 64 emulator, see 1964 (Emulator). ... ETH Zurich (from its German name Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich, ETHZ) is the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich, Switzerland. ... Location within Switzerland (help· info) (German pronunciation IPA: ; in English often Zurich, without the umlaut) is the largest city in Switzerland (population: 366,145 in 2004; population of urban area: 1,091,732) and capital of the canton of Zürich. ... ETH Zurich (from its German name Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich, ETHZ) is the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich, Switzerland. ... 1904 (MCMIV) was a leap year starting on a Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Nickname: The Big Apple Official website: City of New York Government Counties (Boroughs) Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Geographical characteristics Area Total 468. ... 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Naturalization is the process whereby a person becomes a national of a nation, or a citizen of a country, other than the one of his birth. ... The Hell Gate Bridge circa 1917. ... 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is a bi-state agency (operated pursuant to an interstate compact) that runs most of the regional transportation infrastructure including the bridges, tunnels, airports and seaports within the New York-New Jersey Port District. ... View of the Hudson in the 1880s showing Jersey City The Hudson River, called Muh-he-kun-ne-tuk in Mahican, is a river running mainly through New York State but partly forming the boundary between the states of New York and New Jersey. ... 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... For the Nintendo 64 emulator, see 1964 (Emulator). ... The Verrazano Narrows Bridge (properly written as the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge) is a suspension bridge that connects the boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn in New York City at the Narrows, the reach connecting the relatively protected upper bay with the larger lower bay. ... Official language(s) None, English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 27th 141,205 km² 455 km 530 km 13. ... The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the opening into the San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ...

Othmar Ammann designed more than half of the eleven bridges that connect New York City to the rest of the United States. His talent and ingenuity helped him create the two longest suspension bridges during his time. Ammann was known for being able to create bridges that were lighter and inexpensive, yet they were still simple and beautiful. This made him popular during the depression era when being able to reduce the cost was crucial. Golden Gate Bridge, California, USA A suspension bridge is a bridge that consists of two multiple column pillars (or pylons), one on either end of the central span, with two or more cables slung between them. ...

External links

• Ammann & Whitney
• Structurae: Othmar Herrmann Ammann
• Othmar Ammann's Glory
  • http://www.smithsonianmag.si.edu/smithsonian/issues99/oct99/object_oct99.html
    • A description of the design of the George Washington Bridge and Ammann's rivalry with Lindenthal
• Othmar Ammann
  • http://www.nae.edu/nae/naepub.nsf/Members+By+UNID/2196E312ADAA09EF852569E00060B16D?opendocument
    • Provides dates of death, election to the academy, and citation

• Photo