Bringing the Mighty SS United States Back to Life (Steven Ujifusa, The National Interest)

“You can’t set her on fire, you can’t sink her, and you can’t catch her.” - William Francis Gibbs

William Francis Gibbs was an engineer with the soul of an artist. By the time his masterpiece, the ocean liner SS United States, debuted in July 1952, Gibbs was heralded as America’s most successful naval architect. Tall, gaunt and sharp-tongued, Gibbs had a photographic memory and a single-minded passion for ship design. Yet he did not rise to the top of the naval architecture profession by traditional apprenticeship. Born to great wealth in 1886, Gibbs dropped out of Harvard after his somewhat shady speculator father lost his entire fortune. Neither of his parents, who aspired to proper Philadelphia status, encouraged their son’s passion to become a naval architect, pushing him instead towards the law. Gibbs was also lousy at math. It took the support of his devoted brother Frederic, an avid reading of engineering books in his spare time and a prominent mentor in the U.S. Navy to give him the knowhow (and confidence) to pursue his professional dream.

http://nationalinterest.org/feature/bringing-the-mighty-ss-united-states-back-life-15180