Mention the name “Roebling” and just about everyone is reminded of the many suspension bridges constructed across the nation by this family of accomplished civil engineers.
John A. Roebling (1806-1869), founder of the firm bearing his name, died from lockjaw (tetanus) contracted in an accident while surveying for the Brooklyn Bridge. His son Charles G. Roebling (1849-1918), a recent graduate of Rensselear Polytechnic Institute, soon became president and made the company an economic powerhouse.
One of its customers was the Dent Hardware Company, incorporated in 1894 by Henry H. Dent (1861-1940) as its president, and George H. Brightbill, Charles C. Kaiser, Henry P. Newhard, and C.W. Wackernagel. Based in Newark, N.J., the company shortly thereafter relocated to Fullerton, Pa., a suburb of Allentown, where they employed 30 workers in the manufacture of specialty hardware primarily used in refrigerators and cold storage units.
Showing posts with label Charles G. Roebling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Charles G. Roebling. Show all posts
Washington A. Roebling II and the RMS Titanic
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| Washington A. Roebling II, 1910 Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University |
Washington A. Roebling II, son of Charles G. Roebling, president of John A. Roebling Sons Company, and Stephen W. Blackwell, son of Jonathan H. Blackwell, a wholesale dealer of groceries and for a time state senator for Mercer County, traveled to Europe in the early months of 1912, accompanied by Roebling’s chauffeur, Frank Stanley.
After touring the countryside, Stanley returned home, but Blackwell and Roebling decided to delay their departure and book passage on the maiden voyage of Titanic.
They boarded at Southampton, England, from which she departed on April 10, 1912, destined for New York with ports of call at Cherbourg, France, and Queenstown, Ireland. The voyage was uneventful until April 14 at 11:40 P.M. when she struck an iceberg off the Grand Banks, near Newfoundland, Canada, buckling plates along the starboard side of the ship. The large gash rendered her watertight compartments useless, and she took on water for several hours before foundering at 2:20 A.M. on April 15.
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