George Goethals(1858-1928)
Born in Brooklyn, NY, in 1858, George Washington Goethals graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point in 1880. Commissioned as a lieutenant, ,he was assigned to the army's Corps of Engineers, and gained experience in the planning and building of canals and harbors, which came in handy when he returned to West Point as an instructor.
In 1907 US President Theodore Roosevelt picked him to serve as chairman and chief engineer of the US Canal Commission, the agency tasked with constructing the Panama Canal. Goethals took over complete control of the project in January of 1908. It was, to say the least, a daunting task; his two predecessors had resigned under the stress of the enormous project. He not only had to overcome the technical problems involved in the construction of the canal itself, but he had to feed and house more than 3,000 workers. In addition, the workforce had been ravaged by such tropical diseases as malaria and yellow fever, although they were eventually brought under control.
The Canal was finally opened in 1914, and US President Woodrow Wilson appointed Goethals as the first Governor of the Canal Zone, a position he held until 1917, when the US entered World War I. He was appointed acting Quartermatser General of the Army . He left the army in 1919 and started his own engineering firm, George Goethals and Co., of which he was president until 1928.
He died in New York city on Jan. 21, 1928.
In 1907 US President Theodore Roosevelt picked him to serve as chairman and chief engineer of the US Canal Commission, the agency tasked with constructing the Panama Canal. Goethals took over complete control of the project in January of 1908. It was, to say the least, a daunting task; his two predecessors had resigned under the stress of the enormous project. He not only had to overcome the technical problems involved in the construction of the canal itself, but he had to feed and house more than 3,000 workers. In addition, the workforce had been ravaged by such tropical diseases as malaria and yellow fever, although they were eventually brought under control.
The Canal was finally opened in 1914, and US President Woodrow Wilson appointed Goethals as the first Governor of the Canal Zone, a position he held until 1917, when the US entered World War I. He was appointed acting Quartermatser General of the Army . He left the army in 1919 and started his own engineering firm, George Goethals and Co., of which he was president until 1928.
He died in New York city on Jan. 21, 1928.