George Sears Greene

Background

Greene was born on November 26, 1837, the eldest son of George Sears Greene and Martha Barrett (Dana) Greene, and brother of Samuel Dana and Francis Vinton Greene.

Education

Although he entered Harvard College in 1856, Greene left without a degree in order to study engineering under his father.

Career

During his apprenticeship Greene served as assistant engineer on the Croton aqueduct, on various railroads in Cuba, and with several mining companies on Lake Superior. His first important contributions to the theory and practice of his profession were made in connection with his topographical surveys of Westchester County, New York, and of Long Island. As a result of his experience he devised a drifting head for transits, which has proved especially valuable, and introduced other changes in surveying instruments which have since become standard. In 1875 he became engineer-in-chief of the department of docks, New York City, a position which he held for twenty-two years and in which he brought to completion his most notable works. These were the design and construction of the sea wall surrounding the greater part of Manhattan Island and the building of the wharves and piers in the Chelsea Improvement on the North River between Charles Street and Twenty-third Street. Both of these undertakings involved novel and difficult problems. The mud was deeper than any that had been previously encountered, making it impossible to drive piles to a hard bottom. To meet this situation Greene developed a radical and highly successful method of construction based upon the theory that the sustaining power of piles depends partly upon their "skin resistance, " or the friction of the mud against their sides. The fact that this scheme permitted a slight movement of the structures resting upon the piles led to public alarm and open criticism of his work, but its success was recognized by the experts appointed to examine it. Their report made clear the magnitude of Greene's achievements and the brilliant manner in which he utilized cement in under-water construction. During the latter part of his career he practiced in New York as a consulting engineer. Greene died on December 23, 1922.

Achievements

• Greene is chiefly remembered for his design and construction of the sea wall surrounding the greater part of Manhattan Island and the building of the wharves and piers.

Membership

Member of the board of advisory engineers of the State Barge Canal (1911-1914), vice-president of the American Society of Civil Engineers

Connections

Greene was married, April 23, 1862, to his cousin, Susan Moody Dana.

Father:

George Sears Greene

He was a civil engineer and a Union general during the American Civil War.

Mother:

Martha Barrett Dana

Spouse:

Susan Moody Dana

Brother:

Charles Thurston Greene

He was a lieutenant on his father's staff at Culp's Hill.

Brother:

Francis Vinton Greene

He was a United States Army officer who fought in the Spanish-American War.

Brother:

Samuel Dana Greene, Sr.

He was an officer in the United States Navy during the American Civil War, mostly noted for his service aboard the USS Monitor during the Battle of Hampton Roads.

References

• Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers: April, 1874 (Classic Reprint)
• The Greenes of Rhode Island, with historical records of English ancestry, 1534-1902