John Roebling, the German-born mastermind of the Brooklyn Bridge, had constructed several bridges before this. One bridge, in Laxawaxen, Pennsylvania, still stands. Built in 1847, it is the oldest existing suspension bridge in the U.S.

Construction on the bridge began in 1869 and when it was completed in 1883, at 1600 feet in length, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world. Roebling invented the wire rope technology for suspension bridges and tragically died from tetanus after an on-the-job injury a few weeks after construction began. 

His son, Washington, also a bridge cable engineer, who had never before constructed a major bridge, took over the job. He, too, suffered an accident which, while not fatal, made him an invalid for the rest of his life.