Wright died this week in 1842 - He was an American engineer who directed the construction of the Erie Canal that links the waters of Lake Erie in the west to the Hudson River in the east. It was completed in 1825
Wright made the Erie Canal project a school of engineering. Until mid-century, almost every civil engineer in the U.S. had trained with, or been trained by someone who had worked under Wright. Because he trained so many engineers on that project, Wright has been called the "father of American civil engineering." He was also the first Chief Engineer of the Erie Railroad.