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Civil engineering Smeaton's Tower, a red and white striped lighthouse, stands on a grassy area overlooking the water at Plymouth Hoe in Plymouth, England. Bridge to the mainland Lobito California Aqueduct Large concrete dam under construction with cranes, scaffolding, and construction materials, part of the Yamba dam project in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. Tsuruga Trans-Alaska Pipeline Side-by-side diagrams compare the trench and area methods of constructing a sanitary landfill, showing waste collection trucks and bulldozers layering compacted solid waste with daily and final earth covers on original ground, with labeled parts but without liners or leachate systems. Rows of solar panels and tall wind turbines generating renewable energy on a snow covered plateau in Golmud, China.
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civil engineering: References & Edit History

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The history of civil engineering is covered in Richard Shelton Kirby and Philip Gustave Laurson, Early Years of Modern Civil Engineering (1932); James K. Finch, Engineering and Western Civilization (1951); Hans Straub, A History of Civil Engineering (1952; originally published in German, 1949); Charles M. Norrie, Bridging the Years: A Short History of British Civil Engineering (1956); and J.P.M. Pannell, An Illustrated History of Civil Engineering (1964). Works dealing with civil engineering practice include Paul N. Cheremisinoff, Nicholas P. Cheremisinoff, and Su Ling Cheng (eds.), Civil Engineering Practice, 5 vol. (1987–88); D.D. Piesold, Civil Engineering Practice (1991); and Frederick S. Merritt, M. Kent Loftin, and Jonathan T. Ricketts (eds.), Standard Handbook for Civil Engineers, 4th ed. (1996). A number of ambitious civil engineering projects are presented in National Geographic Society (U.S.), Book Division, The Builders: Marvels of Engineering (1992).

J. Garth Watson The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Article Contributors

Primary Contributors

  • J. Garth Watson
    Secretary, Institution of Civil Engineers, London, 1967–79.
  • Aman Kumar
    Aman Kumar is an editor at Encyclopaedia Britannica.
  • The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
    Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.

Other Encyclopedia Britannica Contributors

Article History

Type Description Contributor Date
Add new Web site: Engineering LibreTexts - Civil Engineering. Sep 26, 2026
Add new Web site: The Canadian Encyclopedia - Civil Engineering. Jul 31, 2026
Added sections on environmental challenges and future trends; revised branches of civil engineering. May 15, 2026
Added top questions and cross-references, and made minor text edits. Feb 24, 2026
Add new Web site: Internet Archive - "Civil Engineering". Jan 05, 2024
Add new Web site: LiveScience - What is Civil Engineering? Sep 08, 2023
Add new Web site: The Canadian Encyclopedia - Civil Engineering. Jun 30, 2023
Media added. Mar 25, 2021
Added information about renewable energy and added cross-references throughout. Mar 25, 2021
Add new Web site: RT Russiapedia - Biography of Aleksandr Kolchak. Dec 19, 2013
Add new Web site: Lonely Planet - Koge, Denmark. Dec 19, 2013
Media added. Feb 24, 2011
Add photograph. Feb 04, 2009
Added new Web site: Civil Engineering Contractors Association - History of Civil Enineering. Jul 11, 2008
Article added to new online database. Jul 26, 1999
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