Ferris Pittsburgh​
AKA George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr.
Born: 14-Feb-1859
Birthplace: Galesburg, IL
Died: 22-Nov-1896
Location of death: Pittsburgh, PA
Cause of death: unspecified
Remains: Cremated
Occupation: Engineer, Inventor
Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Ferris Wheel
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George Ferris was a construction engineer who worked on railroad runnels and bridges, eventually establishing his own Ferris & Company, and becoming a recognized expert in such construction. In 1892, Daniel H. Burnham, who was then planning the Chicago World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, expressed his desire to build something "original, daring and unique" for the fair, to rival the Eiffel Tower, which had been built for the 1889 World's Fair in Paris. Ferris responded by proposing the "observation wheel", an enormous circular ride, but Burnham's planning committee rejected it for its cost and their uncertainty about its safety. Burnham himself said that the gigantic device would be too rickety to withstand strong winds off Lake Michigan. Ferris, undaunted, took his plans to several Chicago architects and engineers, and returned to the committee with several expert testimonials to the design's safety -- and $400,000 in his own financing for the project.

Construction ran behind schedule, and the Fair was open for a month and a half before the Wheel was finished. Ferris and his wife were the first passengers, along with the city's Mayor and a 40-piece band. The Wheel began selling tickets on June 21, 1893, and crowds that could not afford the 50¢ fare were awestruck just watching. It was the centerpiece of the fairgrounds -- 264 feet tall, carrying three dozen railway-car-sized gondolas, each of which could seat 40 passengers with standing room for twenty more, for a dizzying twenty-minute ride to altitudes most people had never been. The axle weighed more than 46 tons, and was at the time the largest single piece of steel ever forged. About 1,500,000 passengers rode the wheel, which operated without any safety problems for the duration of the Chicago fair.

But the late completion and unexpected expenses ate into the Wheel's income. After the fair closed Ferris sued for what he felt was his rightful share of the profits from the machine, but lost. Even while the case was in court, smaller versions of his Wheels were built -- without payment to Ferris -- at Coney Island and other amusement parks across America. His wife left him in 1896 and he died a few months later, some say by suicide. He was 37 years old and on the brink of bankruptcy. His remains were cremated and held at the crematorium pending payment of the bill. Some sources say the account was settled and ashes claimed by one of Ferris's brothers, more than a year after his death.
George Ferris
Construction of the Ferris Wheel, By the terms of his concession, granted December 16,1892, The Ferris Wheel Company was to retain $300,000 received from the sale of tickets, after which one-half of the gross receipts were to be paid to the Exposition.​
The axle was 32 inches in diameter and 45 feet long, it was the largest hollow metal rod ever cast.
The wheel carried some 38,000 passengers daily and took 20 minutes to complete two revolutions, the first involving six stops to allow passengers to exit and enter and the second a nine-minute non-stop rotation, for which the ticket holder paid 50 cents.
36 cars were fitted with 40 revolving chairs and able to accommodate up to 60 people, giving a total capacity of 2,160
The Wheel weighed 2,079,884 pounds and when carrying the maximum live load of 2,160, passengers weighing an average of 140 pounds each, the total weight in motion would have been 2,382, 284 pounds or 1,191 tons. The capacity of the Wheel was never taxed, even on Chicago Day, when there were 34,433 paid admissions. The supper hour was heaviest during the summer months, except in the fall, as many people were carried in the early morning rather than in the late afternoon.
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By November 6th, 1,453,611 paid admissions had been received with possibly a thousand or more free trips having been given to various important people. The gross earnings were $726,805, $19,126,447.37 in 2014 dollars, of which $513,403 was retained by the company, giving them a profit of $395,000.
The organizers of the Chicago Exposition wanted to create something as memorable as the recently built Eiffel Tower and the plan for the first Ferris Wheel was born.
The High Roller in Las Vegas is 550 feet tall, which is the largest wheel to date. Compared to the first wheel the High Roller is 220% larger!
The wheel rotated on a 71-ton, 45.5-foot axle comprising what was at that time the world's largest hollow forging, manufactured in Pittsburgh by the Bethlehem Iron Company and weighing 89,320 pounds, together with two 16-foot-diameter (4.9 m) cast-iron spiders weighing 53,031 pounds.

The Exposition ended in October 1893, and the wheel closed in April 1894 and was dismantled and stored until the following year. It was then rebuilt on Chicago's North Side, near Lincoln Park, next to an exclusive neighborhood. This prompted William D. Boyce, then a local resident, to file a Circuit Court action against the owners of the wheel to have it removed, but without success. It operated there from October 1895 until 1903, when it was again dismantled, then transported by rail to St. Louis for the 1904 World's Fair and finally destroyed by controlled demolition using dynamite on May 11, 1906.