AKA George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr.
Born: 14-Feb-1859
Birthplace: Galesburg, IL
Died: 22-Nov-1896
Location of death: Pittsburgh, PA
Cause of death: unspecified
Remains: Cremated
Birthplace: Galesburg, IL
Died: 22-Nov-1896
Location of death: Pittsburgh, PA
Cause of death: unspecified
Remains: Cremated
Gender: Male
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Engineer, Inventor
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Engineer, Inventor
Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Ferris Wheel
Executive summary: Ferris Wheel
George Ferris was a construction
engineer who worked on railroad runnels and bridges, eventually establishing
his own Ferris & Company, and becoming a recognized expert in such
construction. In 1892, Daniel H. Burnham, who was then planning the
Chicago World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, expressed his desire to build
something "original, daring and unique" for the fair, to rival the Eiffel
Tower, which had been built for the 1889 World's Fair in Paris.
Ferris responded by proposing the "observation wheel", an enormous
circular ride, but Burnham's planning committee rejected it for its cost and
their uncertainty about its safety. Burnham himself said that the gigantic
device would be too rickety to withstand strong winds off Lake Michigan.
Ferris, undaunted, took his plans to several Chicago architects and engineers,
and returned to the committee with several expert testimonials to the design's
safety -- and $400,000 in his own financing for the project.
Construction ran behind schedule,
and the Fair was open for a month and a half before the Wheel was finished.
Ferris and his wife were the first passengers, along with the city's Mayor and
a 40-piece band. The Wheel began selling tickets on June 21, 1893, and crowds
that could not afford the 50¢ fare were awestruck just watching. It was the
centerpiece of the fairgrounds -- 264 feet tall, carrying three dozen
railway-car-sized gondolas, each of which could seat 40 passengers with
standing room for twenty more, for a dizzying twenty-minute ride to altitudes
most people had never been. The axle weighed more than 46 tons, and was at the
time the largest single piece of steel ever forged. About 1,500,000 passengers
rode the wheel, which operated without any safety problems for the duration of
the Chicago fair.
But the late completion and
unexpected expenses ate into the Wheel's income. After the fair closed Ferris
sued for what he felt was his rightful share of the profits from the machine,
but lost. Even while the case was in court, smaller versions of his Wheels were
built -- without payment to Ferris -- at Coney Island and other amusement parks
across America. His wife left him in 1896 and he died a few months later, some
say by suicide. He was 37 years old and on the brink of bankruptcy. His remains
were cremated and held at the crematorium pending payment of the bill. Some
sources say the account was settled and ashes claimed by one of Ferris's
brothers, more than a year after his death.
Father: George Ferris Sr. (landscaper, b. 14-May-1818, d.
20-Apr-1895)
Mother: Martha Edgerton Hyde Ferris (b. 24-Oct-1820, m. 3-Sep-1840, d. 23-Mar-1897)
Brother: Fred Ferris
Sister: Maggie Ferris Danburg
Sister: Callie Ferris Barber
Brother: Benjamin Ferris
Sister: Mattie Ferris Schultz
Sister: Mary Ferris Ardway
Wife: Margaret Ann Beatty Ferris (m. 1882, sep. 1896, no children)
Mother: Martha Edgerton Hyde Ferris (b. 24-Oct-1820, m. 3-Sep-1840, d. 23-Mar-1897)
Brother: Fred Ferris
Sister: Maggie Ferris Danburg
Sister: Callie Ferris Barber
Brother: Benjamin Ferris
Sister: Mattie Ferris Schultz
Sister: Mary Ferris Ardway
Wife: Margaret Ann Beatty Ferris (m. 1882, sep. 1896, no children)
High School: California Military Academy,
Oakland, CA (1875)
University: BA Civil Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (1881)
University: BA Civil Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (1881)
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