Portrait of Othmar Ammann

Birthday profile

Othmar Ammann

Othmar Ammann, Swiss-American engineer, designed the George Washington Bridge and Verrazzano–Narrows Bridge (died 1965)

Born
March 26, 1879
Died
September 22, 1965
Zodiac sign
Aries
Birth year
1879

About Othmar Ammann

Othmar Hermann Ammann was a Swiss-American civil engineer whose bridge designs include the George Washington Bridge, Verrazzano–Narrows Bridge, and Bayonne Bridge. He also directed the planning and construction of the Lincoln Tunnel. In 1946, Ammann and Charles Whitney founded the firm Ammann & Whitney. Ammann was known for being able to create bridges that were light and inexpensive, yet they were still simple and beautiful. It was the report that he wrote about the failure of the Quebec Bridge in 1907 that first earned him recognition in the field of bridge design engineering. The bridge, which would have entered Manhattan at 57th Street, was rejected in favor of Ammann's designs primarily due to cost reasons.) Ultimately, this became the George Washington Bridge.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Othmar Ammann timeline

  1. It was the report that he wrote about the failure of the Quebec Bridge in 1907 that first earned him recognition in the field of bridge design engineering.
  2. In 1946, Ammann and Charles Whitney founded the firm Ammann & Whitney.

The world when Othmar Ammann was born

Othmar Ammann was born in 1879. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Headlines and milestones

  • Top headlineThomas Edison demonstrates practical incandescent light bulb
  • Technology milestoneEdison's light bulb — practical electric lighting
  • Notable inventionSaccharin (artificial sweetener) discovered
  • World population~1.39 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderRutherford B. Hayes
  • U.S. population45.9M

1879 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Othmar Ammann's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure18792026
Population45.9M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Library of Congress, Wikidata. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.