Eads, << eedz, >> James Buchanan (1820-1887), was an American engineer and inventor who helped improve river and rail transportation in the United States. He built jetties (underwater walls) at the mouth of the Mississippi River that sped up the flow of water and cleared away mounds of built-up sediment that obstructed shipping. The jetties, completed in 1879, permitted large ocean-going ships to navigate the river. Eads also designed and built the steel-arch Eads Bridge in St. Louis, which opened in 1874.
Eads was born on May 23, 1820, in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. He became a steamboat clerk in St. Louis, and invented a diving-bell boat and a device for raising sunken boats. He was considered an authority on navigating the Mississippi. During the Civil War, Eads built gunboats armored with iron plates for the Union navy. They were used in capturing Fort Henry in 1862, and were among the earliest armored warships. Eads died on March 8, 1887.
