John A. Roebling was 63 when he designed the Brooklyn Bridge, the longest suspension bridge in the world at that time. Born in 1806 in Prussia, Roebling emigrated to the U.S. at age 25. Work on the span began in 1869 and was completed in 1883. Tragically, the architect died from a tetanus infection during the bridge’s construction, but his son, Washington Roebling, finished the project. Read Who Cares? about the struggle for dignity at Woodruff Home for the Aged, “a lively place where old people go to die.” Learn more about the book and its characters, aged 9-90, in NOVELS.

John A. Roebling, the Brooklyn Bridge architect, died before the project was completed

Woodruff Home for the Aged, a lively place where old people go to die