Wilhelm Ritter

Wilhelm Ritter studied at ETH Zurich. Robert Maillart is recorded as having studied under Wilhelm Ritter. The recorded working language is German. The field of work recorded is construction, construction industry and civil engineering studies. Places of work recorded in the authority are Zurich and Riga. Residence is recorded at Zurich. Employment is recorded with Riga Technical University and ETH Zurich.

• Name — Wilhelm Ritter • Born — 14 April 1847 • Birthplace — Liestal, Switzerland • Died — 18 October 1906 • Place of death — Zell, Zürich, Switzerland • Spouse — Magdalena Jacobi • Field — Civil engineering • Workplaces — ETH Zurich • Education — ETH Zurich • Known for — The developer of the first design scheme of lining tunnels on the action of loads from the rock collapse

Ritter was born to a teacher, Johann Friedrich Ritter, and his wife Barbara Salate on 14 April 1847. He graduated from the Technical School in Basel (1865–68) with a diploma in engineering. In 1868, he became a railway engineer in Hungary, and in 1869, an assistant to Carl Culmann. In 1870, he became a professor of engineering at the Polytechnic Institute of Zurich, and from 1873 to 1882, a professor of engineering in Riga. From 1882 to 1905, he held a professorship of engineering in Zurich. Additionally, he would hold the rectorship of the Polytechnic Institute from 1887 to 1891. Ritter died in Zurich on 22 October 1906, and was buried in the cemetery of Turbenthal.

Ritter worked on the statics of engineering structures and the construction of bridges and railways at the Polytechnic Institute of Zurich. He also continued the teachings of Culmann as a theorist. He regarded statics as an engineering discipline and also developed kinematics. One of his students was Othmar Ammann. Ritter contributed to the theory of calculating reinforced concrete structures, and also wrote a number articles on the state of real structures. He participated in the work of the Construction Commission of Zurich and the board of the Swiss Union of Engineers and Architects (1896–98). Ritter developed the first design scheme for tunnel lining to deal with the effects of loads from collapsing rock.[2]

Ritter married Magdalena Jacobi, an American, in 1875. His younger brother Herman Ritter (1851–1918) was an architect. Karl Wilhelm's son, Woldemar Ritter (1880–c.1935) would also become a prominent architect, specializing in church buildings. Woldemar principally practiced in Boston and is noted for his work on Episcopal churches, especially Grace and St. Peter's Church and Emmanuel Church in Baltimore.

Wilhelm Ritter worked in construction, construction industry, civil engineering studies, structural mechanics and structural statics. He was employed by Riga Technical University and ETH Zurich. He belonged to Academy of Sciences of Turin. He worked at Zurich and Riga.

Ludwig Wilhelm, Ritter von Mauthner. Recorded as university teacher, civil engineer, architect and executive.

• Karl Wilhelm Ritter • Urs Widmer: Ritter, Karl Wilhelm. In: Isabelle Rucki und Dorothee Huber (Hg): Architektenlexikon der Schweiz - 19./20. Jahrhundert Basel: Birkhäuser 1998. • E. M.: Wilhelm Ritter. Nekrolog in: Schweizerische Bauzeitung, Bd 48 (1906), S. 204-206 • Christine Lehmann, Bertram Maurer: Karl Culmann und die graphische Statik. Ernst und Sohn, Berlin 2006,.