Editing Leffert L. Buck

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{Infobox engineer
| name                 = Leffert L. Buck 
| image                = Leffert Lefferts Buck.jpg
| caption              = Leffert L. Buck at the age of 50
| nationality          = American
| birth_name           = Leffert Lefferts Buck
| birth_date           = {{birth date|1837|02|05|mf=y}}
| birth_place          = [[Canton (village), New York|Canton, New York]]<ref name="cyclopaedia"/>
| death_date           = {{death date and age|1909|07|17|1837|02|05|mf=y}}
| death_place          = [[Hastings-on-Hudson, New York]]<ref name="sun"/>
| education            = [[St. Lawrence University]]<br>[[Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute]]
| practice_name        =
| significant_projects = [[Williamsburg Bridge]]
| significant_design   =
| awards               = [[Norman Medal]] (1881)
| signature            = Signature of Leffert Lefferts Buck (1837–1909).png
|}}
'''Leffert Lefferts Buck''' (February 5, 1837 – July 7, 1909)<ref name="sun">{{cite news |title=Great Bridge Builder Dead |url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030272/1909-07-18/ed-1/seq-2/ |newspaper=The New York Sun |date=July 18, 1909 |page=2 |accessdate=2022-07-17 |via=Chronicling America}}</ref> was an American [[civil engineer]] and a pioneer in the use of steel arch bridge structures.<ref name="cyclopaedia">{{cite book | title = The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography | volume = 10 | year = 1900 | publisher = James T. White & Company | location = New York | pages = 115–116}}</ref>

==Career==
Leffert Buck was born in [[Canton, New York]].{{sfn|Lewis|2008|page=30}} He graduated from [[St. Lawrence University]] in 1863.<ref name="LLBObit1909"/> After his graduation from St. Lawrence, Buck enlisted and fought for the [[Union Army]] in the [[American Civil War]] under [[Henry Warner Slocum|General Slocum]], participating in the battles at [[Battle of Antietam|Antietam]], [[Battle of Chancellorsville|Chancellorsville]], [[Battle of Gettysburg|Gettysburg]], [[Battle of Lookout Mountain|Lookout Mountain]], [[Battle of Missionary Ridge|Missionary Ridge]], [[Battle of Peachtree Creek|Peachtree Creek]], [[Battle of Resaca|Resaca]] and [[Battle of Ringgold Gap|Ringgold Gap]].<ref name="1895EastRiver">{{cite news |title=Mr. Buck the Engineer; Will Look After the New East River Bridge |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105798819/mr-buck-the-engineer/ |newspaper=The New York Times |date=August 3, 1895 |page=9 |accessdate=2022-07-17 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Following the completion of the Civil War, Buck earned his civil engineering degree from [[Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute]] in Troy, New York, in 1868.<ref name="LLBObit1909"/> 

Buck served as president of the [[American Society of Civil Engineers]].<ref name="LLBObit1909"/> He also worked with Richard Buck, another prominent bridge engineer.<ref name="RBObit1951">{{cite news|title=Richard Buck Dies; Noted for Bridges; Retired Engineer Helped Design the Williamsburg, Queensboro and Manhattan Spans|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1951/08/05/archives/richard-buck-dies-noted-for-bridges-retired-engineer-helped-design.html|accessdate=28 November 2017|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=5 August 1951 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> 

== Projects ==
Some of his projects include:
* The [[Verrugas Bridge|Verrugas Viaduct]] on the Oroya Railroad in Peru (in the early 1870s).<ref name="1904Bridge">{{cite news|title=Lindenthal Bridge Plans Discarded; Commissioner Best Deems Them to be Impracticable. Architect Hornbostel to Get $60,000 for Campanile Scheme, but Will Be Deprived of Opportunity to Get $100,000 for Carrying Them Out.|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105798992/lindenthal-bridge-plans-discarded/ |accessdate=2022-07-17 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=14 February 1904 |page=8 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
* The [[Whirlpool Rapids Bridge]] over the [[Niagara Gorge]],<ref name="LLBObit1909"/> which still exists. He reconstructed and reinforced the [[Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge]],{{sfn|Lewis|2008|page=30}} which allowed traffic to continue while the Whirlpool bridge was under construction.{{sfn|Lewis|2008|page=34}} Steel towers and framework supporting the project were removed once it was completed.{{sfn|Lewis|2008|page=33}} At the time of completion, it was the longest arch bridge ever built (168 meters across).{{sfn|Lewis|2008|page=40}}
* The [[Williamsburg Bridge]], one of [[New York City]]'s most notable landmarks, with [[Henry Hornbostel]]. At 1,600 feet it was the longest bridge in the world when completed in 1903 and a key factor in opening [[Brooklyn, New York|Brooklyn]] up as a working-class neighborhood for [[Manhattan]]. The bridge is well known for its vast reach and massive symmetry.<ref>{{cite news|title=Engineer Buck's Salary Cut.; Made Consulting Engineer of Williamsburg Bridge.|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105799313/engineer-bucks-salary-cut/ |accessdate=2022-07-17 |work=[[The New York Times]] |page=2 |date=1 May 1902 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref name="1895EastRiver"/>
[[File:Pont De Rennes Bridge Rochester NY.jpg|thumb|right|Pont De Rennes]]
* The [[Pont De Rennes bridge]] (former Platt Street bridge) that spans the [[Genesee River]] in Rochester at the [[High Falls, Rochester New York|High Falls]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.teichman-home.org/buck/buck_bio.html |title=Leffert L. Buck Biography |first=Alan |last=Teichman |date=November 5, 1999 |work=www.teichman-home.org |accessdate=2010-07-26 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728083822/http://www.teichman-home.org/buck/buck_bio.html |archivedate=July 28, 2011 }}</ref>
* Engineered the [[Queensboro Bridge]] in New York City.<ref name="1904Bridge"/>

== Death and legacy ==
Buck died on July 7, 1909, in Hastings, New York.<ref name="LLBObit1909">{{cite news|title=Leffert L. Buck, Bridgemaker, Dead; Well-Known Civil Engineer a Victim of Apoplexy at the Breakfast Table. Built Niagara Bridges; Also the Williamsburg Bridge Over the East River and Others Abroad -- Was Wounded in the War.|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105798578/leffert-l-buck-bridgemaker-dead/ |accessdate=2022-07-17 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=18 July 1909 |location=Hastings, New York |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> His widow, Mira Gould Buck, died in [[Eastview, New York]], in 1946 at the age of 84.<ref name="MGBobit1946">{{cite news|title=Mrs. Leffert Buck|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E02EEDC163FE333A0575BC0A9679C946793D6CF&legacy=true|accessdate=28 November 2017|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=January 8, 1946 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

A dormitory in the Quadrangle complex at Rensselaer is named after him.<ref>{{cite web |title=Quadrangle Complex |url=http://www.lib.rpi.edu/dept/library/html/Archives/buildings/quadrangle.html |work=Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute |accessdate=2009-09-12}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===
* {{cite book |last1=Lewis |first1=Paul |title=Niagara's Gorge Bridges |date=2008 |publisher=Looking Back Press |isbn=978-1-55068-925-9}}

==External links==
*[http://www.rpi.edu/about/alumni/inductees/buck.html RPI: Alumni Hall of Fame: Leffert L. Buck]
*[http://teichman-home.org/buck/buck.html L.L. Buck Study Page]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buck, Leffert L.}}
[[Category:1837 births]]
[[Category:1909 deaths]]
[[Category:Engineers from New York (state)]]
[[Category:American civil engineers]]
[[Category:American bridge engineers]]
[[Category:Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute alumni]]