Donald Roebling

Donald Roebling
Born November 15, 1908
New York City, New York
Died 1959
Nationality American
Occupation inventor, engineer, philanthropist
Known for Invention of the amtrac in 1937
Donald Roebling.

Donald Roebling (November 15, 1908–1959) was an eccentric twentieth-century American philanthropist, engineer and industrial designer, and inventor.

He was the great-grandson of John A. Roebling, who began the design of the Brooklyn Bridge, and the grandson of Colonel Washington A. Roebling and Emily Warren Roebling, who together completed the design and supervised its construction.

History

Born in New York City, Roebling grew up in his family's Boulderwood Mansion in Bernardsville, New Jersey.[1]

Roebling built Spottiswoode, now known as the Donald Roebling Estate, in Clearwater, Florida in 1929. The estate and its buildings were added to the National Register of Historic Places in Pinellas County in 1979.

Science and invention

Roebling had an interest in science, and sponsored Paul Bartsch's 1937 Smithsonian marine research expedition.[2] He was also involved in the establishment of the Archbold Biological Station.

He is most famous for inventing the amtrac in 1937, which he originally intended to be a hurricane rescue device. The United States Navy awarded Roebling a Certificate of Achievement in recognition of "exceptional accomplishment" for his invention, dubbed the Roebling Alligator. In 1948, he received the Medal of Merit from President Harry S. Truman, "for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding service to the United States."

See also

References

  1. ↑ Roan, Richard W. "Roebling's Amphibian: The Origin Of The Assault Amphibian". Accessed March 21, 2011. "By the end of World War I, John A. Roebling II had concentrated his efforts on banking and the management of the Roebling family fortune, leaving the leadership of the John A. Roebling's Sons plants to other family members. John and his wife, Margaret, built a sprawling estate called the Boulderwood Mansion in Bernardsville, New Jersey, only thirty miles west of John's office complex in New York City.... Donald Roebling was born in New York City on 15 November 1908. Young Roebling, strong-willed, temperamental, and overweight, spent his childhood in the luxury of his parents' Bernardsville, New Jersey, mansion."
  2. ↑ "Roebling Yacht Soon to Start Scientific Trip". Sarasota Herald-Tribume. March 28, 1937. p. 8.



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