Virtual Book Talk - The Eads Bridge by John K. Brown (Grad Arts & Sciences ’88, '92)

The Eads Bridge: A Daring Achievement of a Remarkable Man - a talk by John K. Brown (Grad Arts & Sciences ’88, '92).
All alumni, friends, and families were invited to join the UVA Clubs of New York for "The Eads Bridge: A Daring Achievement of a Remarkable Man", a virtual book talk by John K. (Jack) Brown (Grad Arts & Sciences ’88, '92), Emeritus Professor of Science, Technology, and Society. This illustrated talk drew from his new book, "Spanning the Gilded Age: James Eads and the Great Steel Bridge", available from Amazon, or your favorite independent bookstore.
Jack talked about an improbable tale out of Gilded Age America. In 1867, James Eads proposed to build the first bridge over the Mississippi River at St. Louis. Completed in 1874, it was the first structure of any kind-anywhere in the world-to use structural steel. To place its stone piers on bedrock, Eads pioneered daring innovations that allowed excavators to work, more or less safely, 100 feet beneath the river. To finance the project, Eads raised funds in New York and London by offering a 400-percent return to 55 investors, including the bankers at J.P. Morgan & Company. This was not investment banking for the timid. The length of the bridge’s steel spans and the depth of its stone piers broke world records. And Eads had never built a bridge before. His graceful double-decked design remains in daily use after 150 years.