History of Europe

"Napoleon of engineering" from Poland. An amazing career as a builder of record bridges

As a child, he unlocked the locks on doors, and then he dreamed of building the Panama Canal. He was close to becoming an engineer, but a pianist. In the end, he achieved his goal and became a master of bridge design that changed the face of America. And he never forgot that he was Polish!

When he was born in January 1861 in Bochnia, he did not have a surname. The father's name was Gustaw Zimajer, but he couldn't name his son because he was married to another woman at the time.

The mother's name was Helena Mincel and she was a virgin, but she wanted to get rid of her name. She dreamed of a great acting career, but "Helena Mincel" would look terrible on posters. The director of the theater group suggested:Modrzejewska. So she became Helena Modrzejewska and her little son Rudolf Modrzejewski.

A child of many talents

Rudolf's childhood was dismal. He was five years old when his parents split up. Helena took Rudolf with her. A year later, Gustaw Zimajer kidnapped his son and kept him in hiding for three years. Only after receiving the ransom did he let nine-year-old Dolek go back to his mother.

Rudolf's mother, or beautiful and talented Helena Modrzejewska, portrayed by Tadeusz Ajdukiewicz in 1880.

It turned out that the boy had a musical talent. Helena Modrzejewska did not lack contacts, so she entrusted her son to the care of the good pianist Kazimierz Hoffman. After just seven lessons, he learned by ear to play four Louis Köhler etudes and Mozart's sixth sonata! However, it was not Modrzejewski who went down in golden letters in the history of music, but a year older friend with whom he sometimes took lessons - Ignacy Jan Paderewski.

Dolek had other talents as well. He was a top student at school, he was great at mathematics and he dreamed of a career as an engineer. When he was 14, he told his mother:" I will build the Panama Canal one day ". This dream could not be realized, but it was relatively close to its fulfillment. He became a world specialist not in canals but in bridges.

His mother's brother

He inherited his determination in striving for success from his parent. Helena Modrzejewska not only sacrificed her name for her career . One day she stated that she would conquer America, although she did not even know the English language! In 1876, she took her family on a ship and sailed overseas. She studied Shakespeare's speech until she dropped out and achieved her goal. If Tony Awards ("theatrical Oscars") were already being awarded then, she would have to set aside a room for them.

Son with mother or siblings after all? Rudolf and Helena Modrzejewscy (source:public domain).

Of course, she tweaked the biography again. She is six years younger - it can be said that it is a standard in this industry. Sarah Bernhardt, her biggest competitor, did a similar thing, and it still happens today. For example, Monica Bellucci captured five years that were later passed on to her by inquisitive journalists.

There was, however, a problem with fifteen-year-old Rudolf. Helena introduced him as her younger brother, but it soon appeared that he was her son. She said that Gustaw Zimajer was her husband, but he died shortly after giving birth to his son. Meanwhile, the alleged spouse was not going to the other world at all. He enjoyed good health, and thanks to the inventions of his mistress, became the most famous "living dead" in the entire Vistula basin.

There is still a name. The mother became "Helena Modjeska", the son of "Ralph Modjeski". The Americans did not quite deal with these endings and Ralph's older son sometimes appears in the sources as "Felix Modjeska".

Piano or construction?

Rudolf struggled between music and construction, but chose an engineering career. In 1880 he went to pass the entrance exams to the Paris École nationale des ponts et chaussées , a renowned technical university. And suddenly shock - it didn't get in. One hundred candidates, 25 vacancies, and the name Modjeski was on ... 27th position on the ranking list.

So music? For the next six months, he practiced the piano eight hours a day. And he hesitated again:or maybe technical studies? After three months of intensive study, he entered his dream university, which he graduated with honors.

Rudolf Modrzejewski playing the piano in a duet with Ignacy Jan Paderewski. Illustration by Joanna Wójcik from the book by Jan and Ewa Wróbel "History of Poland 2.0:a Pole can, and a Pole too ...".

He returned to America, where he quickly found his plot:designing and building bridges. Initially, he worked under the tutelage of George S. Morison, the best specialist in this industry in the entire United States. I mean he was the best until Modjeski came.

The man who "bridged" America

Modrzejewski received his first large commission in 1894:a bridge over the Mississippi from Davenport to Rock Island. In total, he designed or built several dozen bridges. He really had momentum.

The Benjamin Franklin Bridge over the Delaware River, connecting Philadelphia with Camden, has the longest span in the world (533.5 meters). Three years later, the Pole himself broke this record by building the Ambassador Bridge on the Detroit River (563.9 meters). The bridge over the Crooked canyon, on the other hand, was being built without scaffolding on both sides at the same time.

Modjeski was called the "Napoleon of engineering" , he was awarded diplomas and distinctions, he received three honoris causa doctorates , including from the Lviv Polytechnic. He was often asked for consultations, e.g. on the construction of New York's Manhattan Bridge, Canadian Quebec Bridge or the world's longest bridge at that time - the Trans-Bay Bridge between San Francisco and Oakland.

Benjamin Franklin Bridge at night. Despite the passage of time, it still makes an impression (photo:Jeffrey Phillips Freeman "Debeo Morium", CC BY-SA 3.0).

Modrzejewski's bridges weren't just well-designed or made structures. They changed America. They connected different parts of the country, increased the mobility of Americans, and finally gave a new face to cities for which rivers ceased to be a natural border.

Rudolf, who remained Polish

Ralph Modjeski obtained American citizenship and immersed himself in the local culture, but did not forget that he is Rudolf Modrzejewski, a Pole . As Ewa and Jan Wróbel write:

Ralph always remembered his mother's recommendation:"I would very much like you, like your Mummy, to teach foreigners how to pronounce the Polish name in our modest scope wherever you work and operate in the world. with respect". (...) Among Poles, Modjeski spoke and wrote in Polish, he married a Polish woman in an exemplary manner, the wedding took place in the Polish church of St. Stanislaus, in a working-class district of New York.

Rudolf was active in the life of the Polish community in America, and the country did not forget about his famous compatriot. It is enough to look at the newspapers, where the headlines shouted:"Award of the Polish engineer in America" ​​or "Pole the most famous builder".

Our hero's marriage turned out to be a failure . A loud engagement in Krakow, a wedding in New York, three children, and then it was only worse:a long separation and finally a divorce, which Ralph obtained on June 6, 1933 after 46 years of marriage. The next day, 72-year-old Modjeski married his lover Mary T. Giblin vel Virginia Mary Giblyn.

She was not the only woman in the life of an engineer. In March 1930, Belle Silvera, a draftswoman with whom he had lived for seven years, committed suicide in his New York apartment. In August 1933, a dancer named Jeanne De La Mar sued him for half a million dollars because he had promised her a marriage, but he didn't keep his word.

Another work by Modrzejewski - Ambassador Bridge in Detroit (photo:Mikerussell, CC BY-SA 3.0).

The case was a real feast for American tabloids. De La Mar wanted to sell the press the letters she received from Modjeski, later accused his lawyer of stealing his principal's love confessions ... The court battle lasted at least six years.

Oscar winner on her knees

In the United States, Helena Modrzejewska's stage partner was Maurice Barrymore - of those Barrymores (Drew Barrymore is his great-granddaughter). Both families were in close contact, and the Polish actress was godmother to Maurice's daughter, Ethel (born 1879). The girl often played on Rudolf Modrzejewski's lap, and in 1944 she won an Oscar for the best supporting role. Ralph was no longer in the world then. He died on June 26, 1940 in Los Angeles.