Trishia Mae Angela A.

Ringor
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A. Ancient History of Civil Engineering

Civil Engineering has always been part of living since the beginning that includes the
constructions of shelter before. Civil engineers have built some of the most
monumental pieces of history. In history, Civil Engineering practices began between 4000
and 2000 BC in ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley. Many of these early civil
engineering achievements can still be found in Egypt, China, Rome, and other places. Pyramid
construction in Egypt (about 2700-2500 BC) may be regarded one of the first examples of big
structure construction. The Great Wall of China, the Roman aqueducts, bridges, dams, and
highways, the Flemish canals, and Machu Picchu, a mountaintop city in the Andes Mountains,
constructed about 1450 with running water and drainage systems were among the civil
engineering achievements of the succeeding centuries.

B. Civil Engineering in Modern Times

Civil engineering works have been the majority of engineering works connected to both
military and peaceful activities since the beginning. The beginning of civil engineering maybe
traced back to the foundation of the Bridge and Highway Corps in France in 1716. From this
corps the École National des Ponts et Chaussées (the National School of Bridges and
Highways) grew in 1747.

Civil engineering is the oldest of the four basic and fundamental engineering disciplines,
having evolved as a profession from ancient world practices. Bridges, highways, tunnels,
ports, and airfields are among the buildings and facilities that it is responsible for planning,
site preparation, and construction. The term "civil engineer" was not used until around1750,
when John Smeaton, the builder of the Eddystone lighthouse in Plymouth, England, began
referring to himself as civil engineering to distinguish himself from the military engineers of
his time.

After the Ecole Polytechnique and Bauakademie was founded there is no schools existed in
Great Britain in two decades. This lack of opportunity for scientific study and the exchange
of experiences prompted a group of young men to establish the Institution of Civil Engineers
in 1818. In 1820, the founders invited Thomas Telford as their first president. And by the mid-
nineteenth century, civil engineering societies existed in several European nations and the
United States. As other nations followed France and Germany's lead, formal engineering
science education became more widely available. In 1838 King’s College, London, first taught
civil engineering and the University of Glasgow, Scot. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute,
offered the first courses in civil engineering in the United States. During the 19th and early
20th centuries, the number of institutions around the world with engineering faculties,
particularly civil engineering, grew significantly. Civil engineering is now taught at colleges
all around the world.