FERRIS, George Washington Gale [1859-1896] -- American civil engineer and inventor (Ferris wheel)
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He was the inventor of the Ferris wheel.
This wonder of engineering was a hit at the 1893 world's fair in Chicago. Compared to the dinky wheels we see nowadays, it was colossal. Each of the 36 coaches was the size of a San Francisco cable car!
Wheel diameter: 250 feet (comparable to a 20-story building) Coaches: 36 Each coach: 27 feet x 13 feet x 9 feet 40 passengers 13 tons empty weight Axel: 33 inches x 45 feet 56 tons Weight of wheel with passengers: 1300 tons Total weight, including supporting structures: 4300 tons Total capacity: 1440 passengers
Bookmarks (off-site links) |
- Works by
- Analyses, critiques and interpretations
- Specific periods, events, aspects
- The Wheel
of course
- NSLA - Historical Myth a Month - George W. G. Ferris, Jr. and The Ferris Wheel George Ashmead Ferris is sometimes - erroneously - credited with inventing the Ferris Wheel.
- iFairground > History > Ferris Wheel Research - Page 1 Invented when?
- North Side: People: George Ferris There is nothing in the World's Columbian exposition that compares in genuine novelty and sensationalism with the great vertical wheel which stands in the very center of Midway plaisance.
- North Side: People: George Ferris Chicago, June 16.--Standing on a chair in a car swaying 266 feet above the earth a little woman raised a glass of champagne to her lips and drank to the health of her husband.
- The Invention Dimension: Invention of the Week at the Lemelson-MIT Awards Program
- Circus and Theme Park Innovations
- Chicago's Great Ferris Wheel of 1893 lots of technical detail, including a photo of the amazing axle!
- The Dream City: The Ferris Wheel some detai of how it was conceived and how it was run.
- The Wheel
of course
- Works about
- Biographical
- Genealogy
- Memorials, tributes, shrines
- Ferris-small A drawing
- Bibliographies and Link Farms
- Historical context, background
- Residences
- NSLA - Historical Myth a Month - The George Washington Gale Ferris House--Or Is It? some controversy here
- Residences
- Gallery
A collection of period articles
- The Ferris Wheel Check the links to the left
- CoasterGlobe: Features: Lost Legends: The Great Wheel
Bookmarks:2003-03-09 14:11:12