Arthur Vierendeel
Arthur Vierendeel (10 April 1852 – 8 November 1940) was a civil engineer born in Leuven, Belgium. He had a career as a university professor, and civil engineer. The structure known as the Vierendeel truss is named after him.
He obtained an MSc in construction and mining engineering in 1874 at the Université catholique de Louvain, after which he worked as an engineer for the company Nicaise et Delcuve in La Louvière, Belgium. In 1885 he became Director for the Ministry of Public Works in West Flanders, and four years afterward also achieved the post of Professor of Construction, Material Strength, and Structural Engineering at the Université catholique de Louvain.
For the 1897 World Fair at Brussels he built a 31.5m span Vierendeel truss at his own expense and loaded to show the correlation between measurement and his numerical analysis.
He retired as director of public works in West Flanders in 1927, and as Professor at Leuven Catholic University in 1936. He died in 1940.
The above information is condensed from the Wikipedia entry.
Vierendeel Truss
Vierendeel trusses are made up of rectangular rather than triangular frames. Because of the lack of diagonal members, Vierendeel trusses employ moment joints (stiffened joints at the junction between the chord and the vertical members) to resist substantial bending forces.
Due to the less economical use of materials, and the difficulty of design before the advent of computers, this truss found limited use outside Belgium. The form is more commonly employed in building structures where large shear walls or diagonal elements would interfere with the building's aesthetics or functionality.
The first such bridge was built in steel at Avelgem, Belgium in 1902, following development of the truss form and a method to calculate its strength in 1896 by Arthur Vierendeel.
The above information is condensed from Wikipedia Vierendeel Bridge entry.