engineering

List of American isthmian canal engineers

List of American isthmian canal engineers is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand List of American isthmian canal engineers rather than just read about it. In short: This is a partial list of the civil engineers who helped plan, design, or build canals in Central America from 1848 to 1984. Atlantic and Pacific Ship Canal Company survey of 1850 The Nicaraguan government chartered the company in 1846 to construct a canal in that country.

Key takeaways

List of American isthmian canal engineers belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect List of American isthmian canal engineers to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of List of American isthmian canal engineers from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

This is a partial list of the civil engineers who helped plan, design, or build canals in Central America from 1848 to 1984.

Atlantic and Pacific Ship Canal Company survey of 1850 The Nicaraguan government chartered the company in 1846 to construct a canal in that country. It was chartered in the State of New York in the United States in 1854.

Lane, James Crandall (1823–1888) surveyed the Atrato, Pato, and Baudo rivers in 1854, which was then called New Granada, now Colombia. In 1850, Cornelius Vanderbilt sponsored a survey of possible Nicaragua routes.

Childs, Orville Whitmore, Colonel (1803–1870), the builder of the Champlain and Oswego canals in New York State, was chief engineer for the 1850 survey. Childs found the lowest point in "the Continental Divide between Alaska and Cape Horn.." at the isthmus of Rivas, Nicaragua, 153 feet (47 m) above sea level.

Panama Railroad Company of 1848 – 1958 The Panama Railroad was a railway line linking the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean in Central America.

Hughes, George W. Bvt. Lt. Col. (1820-1897) In 1849, Hughes surveyed the route location for the Panama railroad to Panama City. Totten, George Muirson (1808-1884) Totten was chief engineer for the railroad (1856-1875).

Kelley surveys of 1855 – 1866 Frederick M. Kelley (1822 – 1905) was a Wall Street banker who sponsored seven expeditions to discover the purported "Sea Level Interoceanic Canal" of the Isthmus of Darien.

Kennesh, Wiliam (1799 – 1862) In late 1854, Kennish led an expedition across the Isthmus of Panama. He proposed a canal route via the Atrato-Truando rivers, suggesting the construction of tunnels to cross the Baudó Range. Lane, James Crandall (1823 – 1888) was a distinguished American civil engineer and military officer notable for his contributions to engineering projects and service during the American Civil War. Lane led expeditions for the Atlantic and Pacific Canal company in 1853 and 1854, focusing on the same region. His surveys provided further insights into the feasibility of constructing a canal through the Atrato River basin. William C. Fox, Henry P. Adams, and S. Lee Perkins (1827 – ) accompanied Lane. Porter, Mark B., led an expedition in 1853. Trautwine, John Cresson (1810 – 1883) In 1852, Trautwine led an expedition to survey the Atrato and San Juan rivers in present-day Colombia.

Isthmus of Darien survey of 1857 Michler, Nathaniel (1827 – 1881) Michler was an officer in the United States Army Corps of Topographical Engineers.

Nicaragua expedition of 1872 In 1872, the U.S. Navy Department initiated an expedition to survey a potential interoceanic canal route through Nicaragua.

Crowell, J. Foster, (1848 – 1915), surveyed the Rio Sapoa and Rio Ochomogo valleys. Hatfield, Chester, (1837 – 1879), USN. Keller, John D., USN surveys of Lake Nicaragua. Leutze, Eugene Henry Cozzens,(1847 – 1931) USN, ran surveying operations, valleys of the Ochomogo Costa Rica, Tipitapa and San Juan, Nicaragua routes. Lull, Edward Phelps (1836-1887), USN. Lull led the Nicaragua Exploring Expedition from 1872 to 1873, conducting comprehensive surveys for a potential interoceanic canal through Nicaragua. Menocal, Aniceto García (1836 – 1908) Chief civil engineer, a Cuban-American civil engineer and naval officer. Miller, James Madison.,(1852 – 1908), USN. USN, surveyed Greytown harbor. Rhoades, William W. (1837 – 1893) USN surveyed the Rio Las Lajas route.

The Interoceanic Canal Commission of 1872 During the same period as the US Navy surveys, the United States Congress appointed another commission to recommend a route for an isthmian canal.

Humphreys, Andrew Atkinson (1810 – 1883), Brig. Gen, US Army Corps of Engineers. Patterson, Carlile Pollock (1816 – 1881) United States Coast Survey McFarland, Walter (1847– 1888) Maj., US Corps of Engineers surveyed the Nicaragua, Darien, and Atrato River routes.

International Canal Congress of 1879 This congress, held in Paris, France, was designed to determine the best location for a canal across the Isthmus.

Nicaragua Canal Association (1887) The Association was chartered in 1887 with concessions from Nicaragua and Costa Rica. In 1889 the Association was granted an American concession in the name of the Maritime canal company of Nicaragua to build a canal across Nicaragua. The Atlantic and Pacific Ship Canal Company protested this concession. The Maritime Canal Company formed a subsidiary, the Nicaragua Canal Construction Company, to build the canal.

Le Baron, J. Francis (1847 – 1935)

Nicaragua Canal Commission of 1895 – 1897 Haines, Peter Conover, (1840 – 1921)

The Isthmian Canal Commission of 1899 – 1901 This Isthmian Canal Commission was created to recommend the best location in Central America to build a canal.

Burr, William Hubert (1851 – 1934). As a consulting engineer, Burr was also involved with the design of several bridges, tunnels, and infrastructure projects. Ernst, Oswald Herbert USACE, (1842 – 1926) Ernst had been Superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy (1893 – 1898). Haines, Peter Conover, USACE, previously a member of the previous Nicaragua Canal Commission. Haupt, Lewis Muhlenberg (1844 – 1937), formerly USACE and a member of the previous Nicaragua Canal Commission. Morison, George Shattuck (1842 – 1903) A classics major at Harvard who trained to be a lawyer, he instead became a civil engineer and leading bridge designer in North America during the late 19th century. Noble, Alfred (1844 – 1914), who was best known for his work on canals and also served on the Nicaragua Canal Commission in 1895.

Isthmian Canal Commission of 1904 – 1914 This Isthmian Canal Commission managed the construction of the Panama Canal in the early years of American involvement and control of the Panama Canal Zone.

Wallace administration (1904 – 1905) The following men were engineering members of the Commission during this period.

Wallace, John Findley (1852 – 1921) He was the first chairman of the Isthmian Canal Commission and chief engineer. Endicott, Mordecai T. Endicott (1844 – 1926), First civil engineer to head the Bureau of Yards and Docks. Ernst, Oswald Herbert USACE, (1842 – 1926) Ernst had been Superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy (1893 – 1898) and also served on the 1899-1901 Isthmian Canal Commission. Haines, Peter Conover, USACE (1840 – 1921). Haines had served on the previous Nicaragua Commission in 1895 and the first Canal Commission in 1899.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with List of American isthmian canal engineers

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what List of American isthmian canal engineers claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to List of American isthmian canal engineers before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about List of American isthmian canal engineers ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of List of American isthmian canal engineers

In research: List of American isthmian canal engineers appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses List of American isthmian canal engineers in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: List of American isthmian canal engineers is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 19th-century American civil engineers, Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks, History of United States expansionism, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for List of American isthmian canal engineers outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “List of American isthmian canal engineers” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study List of American isthmian canal engineers in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what List of American isthmian canal engineers means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain List of American isthmian canal engineers out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is List of American isthmian canal engineers in simple terms?

This is a partial list of the civil engineers who helped plan, design, or build canals in Central America from 1848 to 1984. Atlantic and Pacific Ship Canal Company survey of 1850 The Nicaraguan government chartered the company in 1846 to construct a canal in that country.

Why does List of American isthmian canal engineers matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study List of American isthmian canal engineers?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on List of American isthmian canal engineers.