Background
William Rumbold was born in St. Louis, Missouri, United States.
William Rumbold was born in St. Louis, Missouri, United States.
Mr. Rumbold is probably better remembered, however, in connection with work on the old St. Louis Court House building, designed by architects Henry Singleton and Robert S. Mitchell, and begun in 1839. During its erection work progressed with difficulty and many changes were made. Finally in 1859 it was decided to replace the original dome with a larger one, and Mr. Rumbold was called upon to prepare the engineering plans. The new dome was 198 feet in height, and built of cast iron; it weighed 128 tons. Placing it on the building was a feat of engineering which attracted much attention, and Mr. Rumbold patented the idea in 1862, the year which saw the final completion of the structure.