California's Golden Gate Bridge

The Most Momentous Bridge in the West

In 1919, the idea of having a bridge stretching across the entrance of San Francisco Bay was first proposed. When the idea came up, Joseph Strauss, a bridge engineer from Chicago, was called in along with many other engineers. Strauss was appointed chief engineer of the project and construction started in 1933. To resist high winds, Strauss designed a conventional suspension bridge supported by two piers. Unlike many other engineers, Strauss took excessive safety precautions. He gave each worker a pair of sunglasses to protect the workers from the glare. He also had a medical team inspect the construction workers regularly. The safety net that Strauss had set up under the bridge saved at least 19 lives during construction. On May 27, 1937, the bridge opened. The bridge was 8981 feet (2737m) long and spanned 4200 feet (1280m) from pier to pier. Each pier was 746 feet (227m) tall. The Golden Gate bridge survived a lot of disasters. After having to be closed down in 1940 because of its excessive flexibility, the bridge was stiffened. The bridge went on to survive a 7.1 scale earthquake in 1989 and was strengthened to withstand a 8.3 scale earthquake. The Golden Gate has become the symbol of San Francisco and has 41 million cars travel across it every day. The great bridge is now one of America's greatest wonders and is known throughout the world as the Gate to California.

Information from...
The World's Greates Buildings
Revised and Edited
Consultant Editor- Trevor Howells

#15- John Cabot

15 John Cabot


Giovanni Caboto, or John Cabot (c.1450-1499) was an Italian merchant and navigator. In 1483, Cabot moved to Bristol. After Colombus found America, Cabot convinced Henry VII of England to send out explorers to claim land in the New World and to find a passage to Asia by going North of America. In 1497, Cabot sailed from Bristol and landed in the New World somewhere from Maine to Newfoundland. He claimed the land he found for England. This trip was the first known trip to find the Northwest passage, for Cabot thought that he had reached Asia. When Cabot got back, he claimed that he reached Asia and was promoted to the rank of admiral and was sent back to what they thought was Asia to find Japan. When Cabot got to America again, he realized that he was still in America. Cabot will forever be known for being the first to search for the Northwest passage, turning England into an exploration power, and for having another famous explorer, Sebastian Cabot, as a son.

Information from...
http://www.library.thinkquest.org/

#16- Abel Tasman

16 Abel Tasman

Abel Tasman (1603-1659) was a Dutch explorer who made trading and exploratory voyages in East and Southeast Asia. in 1642, he went south from Batavia (Jakarta) to find the hypothetical southern continent and a possible route to Chile. Instead pf finding the southern continent, Tasman found an island which he named Van Diemen's Land after the man who sent him on this voyage. The land was later renamed Tasmania. Tasman then kept going east and found New Zealand, which Tasman thought was the Southern Continent. Tasman also found the Tonga and Fiji islands. He also had a 2nd voyage in 1644 during which he sailed to the Gulf of Carpentaria and along the northern and western coasts of Australia. Abel Tasman has made his name great for having an island named after him and for discovering what would become the country of New Zealand.

Information from...
http://www.answers.com/

#17-Willoughby and Chancellor

17 Hugh Willoughby and Richard Chancellor

Hugh Willoughby (c.1525-1554) and Richard Chancellor (c.1520-1556) were English explorers trying to find the Northeast passage. Although Willoughby had good commanding skills and was the appointed leader of the voyage, he left all the navigational work to Chancellor, for Willoughby had no previous nautical experience. On May 10, 1553, Willoughby and Chancellor left England with their three ships, the Bona Esparanza, the Edward Bonaventure, and the Bona Confidentia. When the ships got to the Lofotan Islands, a terrible storm hit, separating Chancellor (in the Edward Bonaventure) from Willoughby and the other two ships. Although Willoughby made it to Novaya Zemlya, he was forced to return to Scandinavia. His ships then got stuck in the ice at the mouth of the Arzina River near Murmansk. Although Willoughby and his crew made several attempts to find help, none were successful, and Russian fishermen found their bodies a year later. Chancellor, on the other hand, found luck. He was able to bring his ship to Kholmogory (Arkkanglash) on the Dvina River, and was even invited to Moscow by Ivan the Terrible. When he returned, Chancellor brought back furs and letters promising trade privileges. Later on, when Chancellor tried to return to Russia, he drown in a shipwreck off the Scottish coast. Willoughby and Chancellor are remembered for helping to bring Russian and British trade together. They also helped England remember that there were trade opportunities closer than the New World and Asia.

Information from...

www.win.tue.nl/~engels/discovery/wilchan.html

#18-Jaques Cartier

18 Jaques Cartier

Jaques Cartier (1491-1557) was a French explorer during the reign of King Francis I. In 1531, Francis commisioned Cartier to find the Northwest Passage. With his two small ships and 61 men, Cartier went to Canada and discovered the Magdalen and Prince Edward Islands. He also claimed the Gaspe Penninsula for France before returning home. in 1535, Cartier was sent to America again, but this time, Cartier went up the St. Lawrence Rivere, which he had mistaken for a bay in his previous trip. As he went down the river, he established Mont Real, or Montreal, which would later become a major Canadian city. After spending a winter with the Huron Indians, Cartier kidknapped 12 of the peace-loving Native Americans and brought them back to France. Although he hoped that they would tell him where their gold mine was, there was never a gold mine to begin with. Cartier later betrayed a fellow Frenchman when they had combined forces to found a start a French colony with former prisoners. Cartier has become one of the greatest explorers in history because of his many findings in Canada, his founding of Montreal, and his use of other people to get what he wanted.

Information from...

http://www.library.thinkquest.org/

#19-Sebastian Cabot

19 Sebastian Cabot

Sebastian Cabot (1476-1557) was an Italian navigator who was also the son of the famous explorer, John Cabot (c.1450-1499). In his earlier years, Sebastian Cabot worked as a cartographer for King Henry VIII of England and as a captain for King Ferdinand V of Spain. in 1508, while working for England, Cabot made a search for the Northwest passage, the passage to Asia above North America. Later on, Cabot went to work for Spain, and from 1526 to 1529, he led a voyage intended to go to China and the Spice Islands. Unfortunately, he only made it to the Rio de la Plata (a river in between Argentina and Uraguay). After exploring both this river and the Paraná River, he was forced to go back to Spain because of a lack of food and an abundance of hostile natives. Considered a failure in Spain, he went back to work for England, and in 1553, Cabot went in search of the Northeast passage, a passage to Asia by going above Europe or across the North Pole.in this trip, he only made it as far as the White Sea. When he landed in Russia, he successfully negotiated trade agreements between Russia and England. Sebastian is one of the Top 20 Explorers because he not only explored three different sections of the ocean, but he also worked for two of the exploration powers of the day, Spain and England, which is more than many more important explorers can claim.

Information from...

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/

#20-Martin Frobisher

During the Age of Exploration, many explorers roamed the seas in search of riches, spices, and new lands to colonize. Being one of my favorite times in history, I am going to write about the Explorers. Over the next few weeks, I will rate the Top 20 Most Important Explorers. I will name them, give a description of their accomplishments, and explain why they are on my list. Enjoy!

20- Martin Frobisher

Sir Martin Frobisher (1540-1594) was an English privateer who went to North America in search of the Northwest Passage, an sea route to Asia by going above or through North America. In 1576, he went out on his first trip to America, finding what he thought was gold, but was actually pyrite. On this trip, he also claimed Baffin Island and Resolution Island for Englan. In 1578, Frobisher went back to America, bringing 15 ships up the Hudson Strait and set up a mining settlement in Frobisher Bay. Later in his career, Frobisher became the vice admiral on Sir Francis Drake's voyage to the West Indies. Frobisher died on November 22, 1594 after getting wounded while fighting the Spanish. Frobisher is in the Top 20 Explorers for finding and claiming one of the largest islands in the world, Baffin Island. He also earns extra points for supposedly having the 1st Canadian Thanksgiving.

Information From...
www.enchantedlearning.com