Civil engineer · 1859–1896
George Washington Gale Ferris Jr.
A public-history summary of the engineer who designed the original 1893 wheel at Chicago’s World’s Columbian Exposition. Ferris Wheel Heritage stewards this record.
Person page · Public history
The engineer behind the 1893 wheel.
George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. was born in Galesburg, Illinois, in 1859. The family archive records that he inherited the full name of his father, who had been named for Rev. George Washington Gale, a founder of the town and of Knox College.
In Pittsburgh he established G.W.G. Ferris & Company, Inspecting Engineers, in 1886. In 1893 he designed the revolving observation wheel that opened on the Midway at Chicago’s World’s Columbian Exposition.
Stewardship, not a claim of control
A family heritage record, not a trademark filing.
Ferris Wheel Heritage stewards the public story of George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. and the original 1893 wheel. This page does not claim trademark control, and it does not describe a current institutional affiliation.
Continue on the heritage page