George Washington Goethals

George Washington Goethals (1858-1928) was an American military officer and civil engineer of Flemish Belgian descent, born in Brooklyn, New York, best known for his administration and supervision of the construction of the Panama Canal, which opened in 1914, two years ahead of schedule. He graduated second in his class at West Point in 1880 and was commissioned into the Army Corps of Engineers, later rising to the rank of Major General. After the canal opened he served as the first Governor of the Panama Canal Zone from 1914 to 1917, and he had earlier served as State Engineer of New Jersey; during the First World War he served as Acting Quartermaster General of the United States Army. He is commemorated by the Goethals Bridge between New York and New Jersey and by a medal the Society of American Military Engineers awards for contributions to engineering. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/