James Finley (engineer)

James Finley (1762Kranakis, Eda, "Constructing a Bridge", The MIT Press, 1997] - 1828), aka Judge James Finley, is widely recognised as the first designer and builder of the modern suspension bridge.

Born in Maryland, Finley moved to a convert|287|acre|km2|sing=on farm in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, near Uniontown. Elected a justice of the peace in 1784, he went on to become county commissioner in 1789, and a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and Senate. From 1791 until his death, he was an Associate Judge for Fayette County.

His Jacob's Creek Bridge, built in 1801 for US$600, and demolished in 1833, was the first example of a suspension bridge using wrought iron chains and with a level deck. It connected Uniontown to Greensburg, spanning 21 metres (70 ft), and was convert|12|ft|6|in|m wide.

Other bridges by Finley or to his patent include:

* Potomac River, 1807, 39 metre span
* Schuylkill Falls, Philadelphia, 1809, two 47 metre spans, collapsed 1811 under a herd of cattle
* Newburyport, Massachusetts over the Merrimack River, 1810, 74 metre (244 ft) span, collapsed 1827
* Brownsville, Pennsylvania, collapsed in 1820 under a snow-covered cart
* Lehigh River, Northampton, Pennsylvania, retained in service until 1933

None of Finley's bridges now survive.

Finley patented his system in 1808 and also published a paper on the principles of the deck-stiffened suspension bridge.Finley, James, "A Description of the Patent Chain Bridge", The Port Folio Vol. III, Bradford & Inskeep, Philadelphia, June 1810, [http://books.google.com/books?id=mO4AAAAAYAAJ] ]

References

External links

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* [http://www.si.edu/mci/english/research/past_projects/iron_wire_bridge.html Image of Finley's bridge]