PTAK

AUSTRIA (see also List of Individuals)

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3.4.1836 Wien/A - 18.6.1908 Wien/A

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Georg Ptak graduated in 1856 as a civil engineer from the Vienna Polytechnic Institute, today's Technical University. He then became a member of the lower Austrian Public Works Office where he was mainly involved in the Danube River service from Vienna along the Hungarian border. Until 1870, he added significantly to the improvement of that river reach by adding suitable hydraulic structures, such as spur dikes, training works and riprap. From 1870 to 1880 he contributed to the flood security of the capital and made provisions to reduce the risk with river ice that could block a river course and thus trigger large flood waves once the natural dam failed. These works brought him the Golden Cross of Merits with the Crown by the Emperor.

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Ptak was appointed director in 1880 of all river restoration works for the Danube River in the Lower Austria County. His design was approved by the Emperor. Ptak was the deputy director of works for the following four years, but he aimed to return to his real profession in the Public Works Office, where he further advanced to Oberbaurat in 1889. His final position in 1898 was a Hofrat. River engineering was vital for humans through all times. In the 19th century, the French engineering schools were at the peak of developments, with exponents such as Antoine de Chézy (1718-1798), Louis Fargue (1827-1910), Stanislas Barlatier de Mas (1840-1919), or Paul Du Boys (1847-1924). Shortly before 1900, the Austrians took over and added considerable to modern river engineering. Their major exponents were Philipp Forchheimer (1852-1933), Philipp Krapf (1854-1039), Ferdinand Wang (1855-1917), Georg Strele (1861-1950) or Armin Schoklitsch (1888-1969). The Germanic "river engineering connection" including also Germany and Switzerland lasted to around World War II and advance was then taken over mainly by the United States and India, and is currently also strong in the Far East and in South America.

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_{Anonymous (1898). Hofrath Georg Ptak. Zeitschrift Österreichischer Ingenieur- und Architekten-Verein 50(29): 446.}

_{Anonymous (1909). Ing. Georg Ptak, k.k. Hofrat i.R. Österreichische Wochenschrift für den Öffentlichen Baudienst 14(30): 543. P}

_{Fischer, K. (2006). Georg Ptak. Personal communication. Magistrat der Stadt: Wien.}