Origins & Early Life

George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. (February 14, 1859 – November 22, 1896) was an American civil engineer. He is mostly known for creating the original Ferris Wheel for the 1893 Chicago World's Columbian Exposition. Ferris was born on February 14, 1859, in Galesburg, Illinois, the town founded by his namesake, George Washington Gale.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

His parents were George Washington Gale Ferris Sr. and Martha Edgerton Hyde. He had an older brother named Frederick Hyde, born in 1843. In 1864 when Ferris was five years old, his family sold their dairy farm and moved to Nevada. For two years, they lived in Carson Valley.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

From 1868 to 1890, his father, George Washington Gale Ferris Sr., owned the Sears–Ferris House at 311 W. Third, Carson City, Nevada. Originally built in about 1863 by Gregory A. Sears, a pioneer Carson City businessman, the house was added to the National Register of Historic Places for Carson City on February 9, 1979. Ferris Senior was an agriculturalist/horticulturalist, noteworthy in Carson City's development for much of the city's landscaping during the 1870s, and for importing a large number of the trees from the east that were planted throughout the city. Ferris...

Contemporary Figures & Related Historical Timelines

• Aleksandr Popov (physicist) — Contemporary (Born in 1859) (1859): Pioneering Russian physicist credited with early radio receiving technology.
• Alexander von Humboldt — Contemporary (Died in 1859) (1859): German polymath, geographer, and naturalist who pioneered biogeography and modern science.
• Alexis de Tocqueville — Contemporary (Died in 1859) (1859): French philosopher known for analyzing Western democracy and social trends.
• A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada — Contemporary (Born in 1896) (1896): Pioneering global spread of Krishna consciousness teachings and the Hare Krishna mantra.
• Alfred Nobel — Contemporary (Died in 1896) (1896): Pioneering chemist, inventor of dynamite, and founder of the Nobel Prizes.
• Anton Bruckner — Contemporary (Died in 1896) (1896): Master of Austro-German Romanticism, renowned for monumental symphonies and sacred works.
• Abdul Qadir Gilani — Shared historical date (02-14 · Died) (1166): Founding figure of the Qadiriyya Sufi order, renowned mystic and jurist.
• Alan Parker — Shared historical date (02-14 · Born) (1944): Acclaimed English filmmaker known for genre versatility and numerous BAFTA and Golden Globe wins.
• Aldous Huxley — Shared historical date (11-22 · Died) (1963): English writer and philosopher known for social satire and mystical explorations.
• André Gide — Shared historical date (11-22 · Born) (1869): Pioneering French author, Nobel laureate known for exploring selfhood and transgression.
• 1859 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 1859
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• 1896 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 1896
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