Neil Armstrong proudly called himself “ a white socks, pocket protector, nerdy engineer.”
It was along these lines that Jules Verne in his classic From the Earth to the Moon observed: “Amercians, the first mechanicians in the world, are engineers – just as Italians are musicians and the Germans metaphysicians- by right of birth.”
Because of so much work and effort by people like Armstrong, the last 100 years are testament to the engineering greatness of America.
As a people, led by our engineers, we have walked on the Moon; harnessed raging rivers and the atom; built the world’s most expansive air, land, and rail networks; cut through the Continental Divide in Panama; launched the greatest navy in history; and so much more.
While the world rightly celebrates the life and accomplishments of Neil Armstrong in the coming days, let’s also tip our hat to the millions of engineers like him who have helped to cast our modern world.
