Joseph Baerman Strauss

Joseph Baermann Strauss (January 9, 1870 – May 16, 1938) was an American structural engineer, best known for being the chief engineer of the Golden Gate Bridge.

He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, to an artistic family of German ancestry, having a mother who was a pianist and a father, Raphael Strauss, who was a writer and painter. His pianist mother had an unfortunate accident which ultimately ended her concert career. He graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 1892. He served as both class poet and president. Strauss graduated with a degree in economics and business.

He was hospitalized while in college and his hospital room overlooked the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge. This sparked his interest in bridges. Upon graduating from the University of Cincinnati, Strauss worked at the Office of Ralph Modjeski, a firm which specialized in building bridges. At that time, bascule bridges were built with expensive iron counterweights. He proposed using cheaper concrete counterweights in place of iron. When his ideas were rejected, he left the firm and started his own firm, the Strauss Bascule Bridge Company of Chicago, where he revolutionized the design of bascule bridges.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Strauss_(engineer)