View source for George Washington Goethals

{{short description|United States Army general (1858–1928)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|image                = George W. Goethals cph.3a02121.jpg
|caption              = Goethals in 1908
|name                 = George Washington Goethals
|birth_date           = {{birth date|1858|6|29}}
|birth_place          = [[Brooklyn, New York]], U.S.
|death_date           = {{Death date and age|1928|1|21|1858|6|29}}
|death_place          = [[Manhattan, New York City]], U.S.
|resting_place        = [[West Point Cemetery]]
|education            = {{ubl|[[City College of New York|College of the City of New York]]|[[United States Military Academy]]}}
|order=1st
|office= Governor of Panama Canal Zone
|term_start= 1914
|term_end= 1917
|predecessor= 
|successor= [[Chester Harding (governor)|Chester Harding]]
|office2= State Engineer of New Jersey
|term_start2= 1917
|term_end2= 1917
|predecessor2= 
|successor2=
|office3= [[Quartermaster General of the United States Army|Acting Quartermaster General of the United States Army]]
|term_start3= 1917
|term_end3= 1919
|predecessor3= 
|successor3=
|office4= President of George W. Goethals & Co.
|term_start4= 1919
|term_end4= 1923
|spouse               = {{marriage|Effie Rodman|1884|<!-- Omission per Template:Marriage instructions -->}}
|parents              =
|children             = 2
|discipline           = 
|institutions         =
|practice_name        = 
|rank                 = [[Brigadier general (United States)|Brigadier General]]
|awards   = {{no wrap|[[Public Welfare Medal]] {{small|(1914)}}<br />[[Cullum Geographical Medal]] {{small|(1917)}}<br />[[John Fritz Medal]] {{small|(1919)}}}}
|signature            = CAB 1918 Goethals George Washington signature.png
}}

'''George Washington Goethals''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɡ|oʊ|θ|əl|z}} {{respell|GOH|thəlz}} June 29, 1858 – January 21, 1928) was an American military officer and [[civil engineer]], best known for his administration and supervision of the construction and the opening of the [[Panama Canal]]. He was the first [[Governor of Panama Canal Zone]] from 1914 to 1917, and was also the State Engineer of [[New Jersey]] and the [[Quartermaster General of the United States Army|Acting Quartermaster General of the United States Army]].<ref name=obit/>

==Early life and education==
Goethals was born in [[Brooklyn, New York]], to [[Flemish people|Flemish]] immigrants from [[Stekene]], Belgium,<ref>[http://people.zeelandnet.nl/vanput/genam.htm Genealogie van Egidius Goethals – HTML uitvoer van HAZA-DATA 7.2] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220703042811/https://people.zeelandnet.nl/vanput/genam.htm |date=July 3, 2022 }} (in [[Dutch language|Dutch]])</ref><ref>[http://people.zeelandnet.nl/vanput/belgoet.htm Belangrijke Goethals'en] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304023433/http://people.zeelandnet.nl/vanput/belgoet.htm |date=March 4, 2016 }} (in [[Dutch language|Dutch]])</ref><ref name=CMH>{{cite book| url=http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/panama/panamacanal/| title=The Panama Canal:An Army's Enterprise| publisher=[[United States Army Center of Military History]]| year=2009| id=CMH Pub 70-115-1| pages=13–15| access-date=August 16, 2010| archive-date=October 15, 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171015150613/https://history.army.mil/html/books/panama/panamacanal/| url-status=dead}}</ref> Johannes Baptista (John Louis) Goethals, a carpenter, and wife Marie Le Barron. Aged 14, he entered the [[City College of New York|College of the City of New York]]. In April 1876, after three years of college, he won an appointment to the [[United States Military Academy]] (USMA) at [[West Point, New York]] and entered there in June.<ref name="Cullum 1890">{{cite book |url=https://digital-library.usma.edu/digital/collection/p16919coll3/id/13642/rec/6|title=Biographical register of the officers and graduates of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. from its establishment in 1802, to 1890: With the early history of the United States Military Academy|date=1891|volume=III|page=328|publisher=The Riverside Press|access-date=2022-02-08}}</ref> He graduated second in his class of 52 in June 1880,<ref name=CMH /> and was commissioned as a [[second lieutenant]] in the [[United States Army Corps of Engineers|Corps of Engineers]] of the [[United States Army]].{{sfn|McGovern|2019|pp=11-12}}<ref name="Cullum 1890"/>

==Military career==
Goethals remained at the military academy during the summer and fall of 1880 as an assistant instructor in practical [[astronomy]]. In 1881, he attended the Engineer School of Application at [[Fort Totten (New York)|Willets Point, New York]]. His first field assignment came in 1882 with his appointment as engineer officer of the Department of Columbia in [[Vancouver, Washington]].<ref name=CMH /> His routine duties included reconnaissance, surveys, and astronomical work, while his most consequential project was the replacement of a 120-foot bridge across the [[Spokane River]].

From 1885 to 1889, he taught civil and military engineering at West Point. He returned to the field in 1889 to assist Colonel [[John W. Barlow]] with navigational improvements on the [[Cumberland River]] and [[Tennessee River]].

While an instructor at West Point, Goethals agreed to tutor [[Charles Young (United States Army)|Charles Young]], the third African-American graduate of West Point; Young had failed an engineering class but – after being tutored by Goethals – passed and graduated in 1889.<ref>Shellum, Brian G., and Brooks, Vincent (2006). ''Black Cadet in a White Bastion'' (Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press), pp. 2, 123, 127-33.</ref>

In 1891, Goethals was promoted to captain. He soon was placed in charge of the completion of the [[Muscle Shoals Canal]] along the Tennessee River near [[Florence, Alabama]].<ref name=CMH /> This was his first independent command, and his responsibilities included the design and construction of the [[Riverton Lock]] at Colbert Shoals.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bishop|first1=Chip|title=Lion and the Journalist: The Unlikely Friendship of Theodore Roosevelt and Joseph Bucklin Bishop|date=November 8, 2011|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-0-7627-7754-9|page=203}}<!--|access-date=14 December 2015--></ref> His recommendation of a single lock with an unprecedented lift of twenty-six feet was initially opposed by his superiors in Washington, and he was forced to persuade the conservative army engineers of the merits of his design. The lock's successful construction set a world record for lock height.<ref name=CMH /> The success of the Riverton Lock inspired the eventual adoption of [[Lock (water navigation)|high-lift locks]] elsewhere, including those for the Panama Canal.

During the [[Spanish–American War]], he was [[Lieutenant colonel (United States)|lieutenant colonel]] and [[chief of engineers]] of [[United States Volunteers]].<ref name=Ency>{{cite book|last1=Tucker|first1=Spencer|title=The Encyclopedia of the Spanish-American and Philippine-American Wars: A Political, Social, and Military History|date=2009|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9781851099511|page=245|edition=Volume 1}}<!--|access-date=15 December 2015--></ref> In 1903, Goethals became a member of the first Army General Staff in Washington, D.C., and served as coastal defence expert.

==Construction of the Panama Canal==
{{See also|History of the Panama Canal}}
[[File:PanamaCanal1913a.jpg|thumb|1000px|center|Construction of locks on the Panama Canal, 1913]]
[[Theodore Roosevelt]] believed that a US-controlled canal across Central America was a vital strategic interest of the country. Roosevelt encouraged the acquisition of the French Panama Canal effort. The purchase of the French-held land for $40&nbsp;million was authorized by the June 28, 1902, [[Spooner Act]]. Since Panama was then part of [[Colombia]], Roosevelt began negotiating with that country to obtain the necessary rights. In early 1903 the [[Hay–Herrán Treaty]] was signed by both nations, but the [[Senate of Colombia]] failed to ratify the treaty.

Roosevelt implied to Panamanian rebels that if they revolted, the US Navy would assist their fight for independence. Panama declared its independence on November 3, 1903, and the [[USS Nashville (PG-7)|USS ''Nashville'']] impeded Colombian interference. The victorious Panamanians gave the United States control of the [[Panama Canal Zone]] on February 23, 1904, for $10&nbsp;million in accordance with the November 18, 1903 [[Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty]].<ref>Parker, Matthew. (2008). ''Panama Fever: The Epic Story of One of the Greatest Human Achievements of All Time—The Building of the Panama Canal''. Doubleday. {{ISBN|978-0385515344}}</ref>

===United States takeover===

The United States took control of the French property—after the bankruptcy of the French ''Compagnie Universelle du Canal Interocéanique de Panama'' that started constructions on The Panama Canal under [[Ferdinand de Lesseps]]— on May 4, 1904. The new Panama Canal Zone Control was overseen by the [[Isthmian Canal Commission]] (ICC) during construction.

The US inherited a small workforce and an assortment of buildings, infrastructure and equipment, much of which had been neglected for fifteen years in the humid jungle environment. There were no facilities in place for a large workforce, and the infrastructure was crumbling.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=M6JAAQAAMAAJ&dq=2148+buildings+panama+canal&pg=PA2598 Annual Report of the Chief of Engineers], United States Army, Part 2.</ref>

Although chief engineer [[John Findley Wallace]] was pressured to resume construction, [[red tape]] from Washington stifled his efforts to obtain heavy equipment and caused friction between Wallace and the ICC. He and chief sanitary officer [[William C. Gorgas]] were frustrated by delay, and Wallace resigned in 1905. He was replaced by [[John Frank Stevens]], who arrived on July 26, 1905. Stevens' approach was to press ahead first and obtain approval later. He improved drilling and dirt-removal equipment at the Culebra Cut for greater efficiency, revising the inadequate provisions in place for soil disposal. In November 1906 Roosevelt visited Panama to inspect the canal's progress, the first trip outside the United States by a sitting president.

===Chief engineer of the Panama Canal===
[[File:Panama Canal under construction, 1907.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Panama Canal under construction, 1907]]
Whether contract employees or government workers would build the canal was controversial. Bids for the canal's construction were opened in January 1907, and [[Knoxville, Tennessee]]-based contractor [[William J. Oliver (industrialist)|William J. Oliver]] was the low bidder.  Stevens disliked Oliver, and vehemently opposed his choice. Although Roosevelt initially favoured the use of a contractor, he eventually decided that army engineers should carry out the work.<ref>DuVal, Miles P. (1947) ''And the Mountains Will Move: The Story of the Building of the Panama Canal''. Stanford University Press.</ref> According to the book ''The Panama Canal: An Army's Enterprise'', Goethals made such an impression on [[William Howard Taft]], then [[Secretary of War]], that Taft recommended him as an engineer for the Panama Canal.<ref name=CMH /> Stevens, frustrated by government inaction and the army involvement, resigned from his position.<ref>For an excellent book on these early years see: Mellander, Gustavo A. (1971) ''The United States in Panamanian Politics: The Intriguing Formative Years.'' Danville, Ill.: Interstate Publishers. {{OCLC|138568}}.</ref>

In February 1907 [[President of the United States|US President]] [[Theodore Roosevelt]] appointed Colonel George Washington Goethals chief engineer of the [[Panama Canal]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/panama-engineers/|title=WGBH American Experience . Panama Canal - PBS|website=[[PBS]]|access-date=August 28, 2017|archive-date=December 31, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161231120316/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/panama-engineers/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>McCullough, David (1977), ''The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870–1914'', New York: Simon & Schuster. pp. 505-508. {{ISBN|0-671-24409-4}}</ref> The building of the Canal was completed in 1914, two years ahead of the target date of June 10, 1916.<ref>Brodhead, Michael J. 2012. "The Panama Canal: Writings of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers Officers Who Conceived and Built It." p.1.</ref>

Colonel Goethals received unstinted praise from visiting engineers and from the technical press of the world. In 1913 the degree of [[Legum Doctor|LL.D.]] was conferred on him by the [[University of Pennsylvania]], and in the spring of 1914 he was awarded medals by            the [[National Geographic Society]], the Civic Forum (New York), and the National Institute of Social Sciences. In 1914, Goethals and [[William Crawford Gorgas]] were awarded the inaugural [[Public Welfare Medal]] from the [[United States National Academy of Sciences|National Academy of Sciences]].<ref name=PublicWelfare>{{cite web|title=Public Welfare Award |url=http://www.nasonline.org/site/PageServer?pagename=AWARDS_pwm |publisher=National Academy of Sciences |access-date=14 February 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604024100/http://www.nasonline.org/site/PageServer?pagename=AWARDS_pwm |archive-date=4 June 2011 }}</ref> Also, Congress awarded Goethals their thanks and a promotion to major general. [[Woodrow Wilson|President Wilson]] appointed Goethals as the first [[List of Governors of Panama Canal Zone|Civil Governor of the Panama Canal Zone]].<ref name=CMH />

==World War I==
General Goethals resigned from the post of Governor of the Canal Zone in 1916.<ref name=CMH /> Soon he was made chairman of the board of inquiry in regard to the [[Adamson Act|Adamson eight-hour law]].<ref>[http://findingaids.loc.gov/db/search/xq/searchMfer02.xq?_id=loc.mss.eadmss.ms013029&_faSection=overview&_faSubsection=scopecontent&_dmdid=d7475e20 George W. Goethals papers]. Library of Congress.</ref> His positions thereafter were: State engineer of New Jersey in 1917 and manager of the [[United States Shipping Board Merchant Fleet Corporation|Emergency Fleet Corporation]] (briefly). George Washington Goethals was appointed as [[Quartermaster general|acting Quartermaster General of the United States Army]] during the most crucial period of [[World War I]] (December 19, 1917 to May 9, 1918) and was a member of the [[War Industries Board]] (1918).

===Quartermaster General of the United States Army===
[[Image:"The Ships are Coming" poster of World War I for United States Shipping Board - Emergency Fleet Corporation.jpg|thumb|right|200px|A [[World War I]] poster for the US Shipping Board, {{Circa|1917–18}}]]
[[File:I want you for U.S. Army 3b48465u original.jpg|thumb|left|200px|[[Uncle Sam]] pointing his finger at the viewer in order to recruit soldiers for the U.S. Army during World War I, 1917-1918]]
In April 1917 George W. Goethals was serving at President [[Woodrow Wilson]]'s request, as General Manager and Director of the [[United States Shipping Board Merchant Fleet Corporation|Emergency Fleet Corporation]]— charged with creating improvised ships, to carry the American army and its supplies to France, in the shortest possible time.<ref name="Anne Cipriano Venzon 2013 p. 294">Anne Cipriano Venzon (2013). ''The United States in the First World War: An Encyclopedia''. Routledge. p. 294.</ref>
[[File:C01357-military rail transport Frizeville 1917.jpg|thumb|right|Transfer of ammunition from standard-gauge railway to trench railway during the [[Battle of Passchendaele]]]]

The United States as late as 1917 maintained only a small army, smaller than thirteen of the nations and empires already active in the war. After the passage of the [[Selective Service Act of 1917|Selective Service Act]] of May 1917, the U.S. drafted 4 million men into military service, the logistics demands were unprecedented.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sss.gov/induct.htm |title=Selective Service System: History and Records |publisher=Sss.gov |access-date=July 27, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090507211238/http://www.sss.gov/induct.htm |archive-date=May 7, 2009 }}</ref> By the summer of 1918, about 2 million US soldiers had arrived in France and approximately 10,000 fresh soldiers were arriving in Europe each day.<ref name="historyplace.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/firstworldwar/index-1918.html |title=World War I Timeline - 1918 - A Fateful Ending |publisher=The History Place |access-date=2016-11-06}}</ref>

Mainly as a result of [[Logistics in World War I|supply blunders]] during the bitter winter of 1917, a Congressional investigation was under way, when General Goethals was recalled to active service, and  was asked on December 19, 1917, to accept appointment as Acting Quartermaster General. Goethals did so only after [[Secretary of War]] [[Newton D. Baker]] had assured him full authority and that he would not be interfered with, nine days later he was appointed Director of the Storage & Traffic Service. Reaction to his appointment at home and overseas is illustrated by a message he is said to have received from former President Theodore Roosevelt: "I congratulate you, and thrice over I congratulate the country."<ref name="MAJOR ROY A. SHAW 1951">Major Roy A. Shaw (1951) "Two Acting Quartermasters General and their Assistant". ''The Quartermaster Review'' September–October 1951. Fort Lee, Virginia.</ref>

The Army's [[Military supply chain management|supply chain]] suffered from three main problems—a shortage of specialized personnel, decentralized organization and diverse uncoordinated functions. When the United States entered the war, the [[Quartermaster Corps (United States Army)|Quartermaster Corps]] had suffered a loss of personnel—most officers were sent to the front—this was the first problem demanding attention. Believing the Army's business could be best organized along civilian lines, he hired military men who could get along with industrialists and built with and around a number of highly trained executives and businessmen (among the new recruits were [[Hugh S. Johnson]] and [[Robert J. Thorne]]). Some of these men were commissioned and some were [[One-dollar salary|dollar-a-year-men]], most of whom never collected the dollar.<ref name="Anne Cipriano Venzon 2013 p. 294"/> From General Goethals down, practically everyone was on the job from early morning to late at night, seven days a week.<ref name="Anne Cipriano Venzon 2013 p. 294"/>

Goethals reorganized the corps along [[Line function|functional lines]] and by January 26, purchasing had been taken away from outside agencies, and placed under his control. The functions of each division and branch were specifically set forth and the personnel in charge was officially designated.<ref>Risch, Erna (1989). ''Quartermaster support of the Army: a history of the Corps, 1775-1939''. Washington, DC. Center of Military History, United States Army. p.631.</ref>

[[File:111-SC-29242 - NARA - 55217870 (cropped) (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|Major General George W. Goethals and members of his staff, December 7, 1918. Front row, left to right: Mr. [[Gerard Swope]], Major General George W. Goethals, Brigadier General [[Herbert Lord]], Brigadier General William H. Rose. Back row, left to right: Edwin W. Fullam, Brigadier General [[Frank T. Hines]], Brigadier General [[Robert E. Wood]], Colonel F. B. Wells.]]

The [[Departmental Reorganization Act|Overman Act]], a result of the Congressional investigations started in December 1917, authorized what became known as the "interbureau procurement system," and was to make the Quartermaster Corps the most important War Department purchasing agency. Goethals established a system of standardization of bureau record keeping and supply chain planning. He also worked on installing uniform procurement policies, with the goal of presenting consolidated estimates to congress.<ref>Risch, Erna (1989). ''Quartermaster support of the Army: a history of the Corps, 1775-1939''. Washington, DC. Center of Military History, United States Army. p.640.</ref>

In April 1918 a further reorganization of the General Staff led to the creation of the Purchase, Storage, & Traffic Division, with General Goethals as Director and [[Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army|Assistant Chief of Staff of the Army]]. Its creation was the result of protests by General Goethals, to the effect that, though coordination in the handling of [[Military logistics|Army logistics problems]] had been a major objective when the General Staff was created in 1903, coordination was practically nonexistent.<ref>Anne Cipriano Venzon (2013). ''The United States in the First World War: An Encyclopedia''. Routledge. p. 295.</ref> In the months to come, his division took control of purchasing and storage by the Army as a whole and of transportation over land and water. Now one person coordinated all supply bureaus, which had previously competed for the nation's resources, in a system that had inevitably slowed down input of war supplies.

At a meeting of quartermaster personnel in Washington, on August 8, 1918, Secretary of War Baker said:<ref name="MAJOR ROY A. SHAW 1951"/>

<blockquote>How fortunate this great army is to have so good and able a provider. Indeed, when the history of this war comes to be written, there will be chapters which have, up to now, almost escaped .... Today, I had a letter from General [[John J. Pershing]] in which he was commenting upon the perfection of supplies on the other side....</blockquote>

France and England were not the only overseas destinations for quartermaster supplies. Among others were Italy, Hawaii, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, China, Russia, and Siberia. In a talk [[Leonard Wood|General Wood]] made at this meeting he mentioned that:

<blockquote>... to handle this task, there are now in the Quartermaster Corps over eight thousand officers, one hundred and fifty-five thousand enlisted men, and sixty-five thousand civilian employees, and that number is being increased all the time to keep pace with the wants of our constantly increasing Army.</blockquote>

In 1919, Goethals requested his release from active service.

===Honors and awards===
For his World War I service General Goethals, who retired March 1, 1919—and whom General [[Peyton C. March]], the [[Chief of Staff of the United States Army|Army Chief of Staff]], called "a great engineer, a great soldier, and the greatest Chief of Supply produced by any nation in the World War "—was awarded the [[Distinguished Service Medal (U.S. Army)|Army Distinguished Service Medal]]; was named Commander of the [[Legion of Honour|Legion of Honor]] by France and [[Order of the British Empire|Honorary Knight Commander]], by Great Britain; and was awarded the British [[Order of St Michael and St George|Order of St. Michael & St. George]] and the Grand Cordon of the Order of Wen Hu by China. Previously he had been awarded many medals by scientific and geographic societies and some fifteen honorary degrees by universities and colleges.<ref name="MAJOR ROY A. SHAW 1951"/> The citation for his Army DSM reads:

{{Blockquote|The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Army Distinguished Service Medal to Major General George Washington Goethals, United States Army, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services to the Government of the United States, in a duty of great responsibility during World War I, in reorganizing the Quartermaster Department and in organizing and administering the Division of Purchase, Storage, and Traffic during the war.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/17584|title=Valor awards for George Washington Goethals|publisher=Military Times}}</ref>}}

==Civilian life==
Later on, he headed an engineering and construction firm. He became the first consulting engineer of the Port of New York Authority (now the [[Port Authority of New York and New Jersey]] or PANYNJ).<ref name=Khaki>{{cite book|last=Davis|first=Henry Blaine Jr.|title=Generals in Khaki|publisher=Pentland Press, Inc.|year= 1998
|isbn= 1571970886|oclc=40298151|pages=149–150}}</ref> Both the original [[Goethals Bridge (1928–2017)|Goethals Bridge]] and the current [[Goethals Bridge]], which the PANYNJ operates between New York and New Jersey, were named for him. Goethals was an elected member of the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]], the [[American Philosophical Society]], and the United States [[National Academy of Sciences]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-02-09 |title=George Washington Goethals |url=https://www.amacad.org/person/george-washington-goethals |access-date=2023-11-14 |website=American Academy of Arts & Sciences |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=APS Member History |url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=George+Washington+Goethals&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced |access-date=2023-11-14 |website=search.amphilsoc.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=George W. Goethals |url=https://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/deceased-members/20000722.html |access-date=2023-11-14 |website=www.nasonline.org}}</ref>

==Personal life and death==
In 1884, he married Effie Rodman; they had two sons.<ref name=CMH /> Goethals, after having been discovered to have terminal lung cancer in September 1927,{{sfn|McGovern|2019|p=206}} died at the age of 69, "surrounded by his wife and two sons",{{sfn|McGovern|2019|p=206}} at his apartment at 12 East [[86th Street (Manhattan)|86th Street]] in [[Manhattan, New York City]] on January 21, 1928.<ref name=Khaki/><ref name=obit>{{cite news |title=Gen. Goethals Dies After Long Illness. Builder of Panama Canal and Once Ruler of the Isthmus Succumbs Here at 70. Brilliant Career In Army. His Feat Hailed as One of the Greatest in History. West Point Funeral Tuesday. Gen. Goethals Dies After Long Illness. |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9902E2DD1438E23ABC4A51DFB7668383639EDE&legacy=true |newspaper=[[New York Times]] |date=January 22, 1928}}</ref> He was buried at [[West Point Cemetery|the cemetery]] of the United States Military Academy at West Point.

==Legacy and tributes==
* He is the great-great-grandfather of actress [[Angela Goethals]].
* In World War II, the United States [[liberty ship]], {{USNS|George W. Goethals|T-AP-182}}, was named in his honor.
* The United States Army Corps of Engineers [[Dredge Goethals|dredge ''Goethals'']], which operated 1937–1982, was named in his honor.
* The [[Goethals Medal]] was named after him, awarded by the [[Society of American Military Engineers]] for eminent contributions to engineering and related fields.
* The [[Goethals Bridge]] between [[Staten Island]], New York City, and [[Elizabeth, New Jersey]], also bears his name.
* [[Goethals Road North]] on [[Staten Island]], New York City, bears his name.
* [[Goethals Avenue]] in [[Queens]], New York City, bears his name.
* Streets are named for him in [[Richland, Washington]],<ref>{{cite web|title=location 46°16'39.2"N 119°16'47.2"W|url=https://www.google.com/search?q=46.277566%2C-119.279786|website=Goethals Drive|publisher=Google Map|access-date=15 December 2015}}</ref> in Queens, New York City, at [[St. John's University (New York City)|St. John's University]],<ref>{{cite web|title=40.7191882,-73.8066898 Goethals+Ave,+Queens,+NY|url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/Goethals+Ave,+Queens,+NY/@40.7191882,-73.8066898,17z/data=!4m7!1m4!3m3!1s0x89c260e53aa04fa5:0xc63fdd9951ef5379!2sGoethals+Ave,+Queens,+NY!3b1!3m1!1s0x89c260e53aa04fa5:0xc63fdd9951ef5379|website=Google location|publisher=Google Maps|access-date=15 December 2015}}</ref> in [[Fort Leonard Wood]] and in [[Gamboa, Panama]].
* His image is depicted on several US and [[Panama Canal Zone]] stamps.
* The [[Goethals Monument]] was built in [[Panama City]] in 1954.
* ''[[Goethalsia meiantha|Goethalsia]]'', a [[monotypic]] genus of flowering plants from Central America. Was named after him.<ref>{{cite web |title=''Goethalsia'' Pittier {{!}} Plants of the World Online {{!}} Kew Science |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:294740-2 |website=Plants of the World Online |access-date=16 September 2021 |language=en}}</ref>

<gallery class="center">
File:Panama Canal 25th 1939 U.S. stamp.1.jpg|[[Theodore Roosevelt|Roosevelt]] and Goethals on US stamp, 1939
File:Canal Zone 2c-Gothals, 1928 Issue.jpg|Goethals on Canal Zone postage stamp, 1928
Image:Monumento a Goethals-vertical.jpg|Goethals Monument, Panama City
File:Goethals Bridge.JPG|Goethals Bridge
File:Goethals dredge.jpg|Dredge ''Goethals''
File:USNS George W. Goethals T-AP-182.jpg|USNS ''George W. Goethals''
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[History of the Panama Canal]]
*[[Postage stamps and postal history of the Canal Zone]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite journal |last=Bishop |first=Farnham |date=August 1912  |title=The Builder Of The Canal: Col. George Washington Goethals |journal=[[World's Work|The World's Work: A History of Our Time]] |volume=XXIV |pages=389–402  |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=F4pgvOJ2Xx8C&pg=PA389|access-date=2009-07-10 }}
* Bishop, Joseph Bucklin, ''Goethals - Genius of the Panama Canal'' (1930).
* McGovern, Rory M. "The School of Experience: George W. Goethals and the US Army, 1876–1907." ''Journal of Military History'' 81.2 (2017).
* Mellander, Gustavo A., Mellander, Nelly, Charles Edward Magoon: The Panama Years. Río Piedras, Puerto Rico: Editorial Plaza Mayor. ISBN 1-56328-155-4. OCLC 42970390. (1999)
* Mellander, Gustavo A., The United States in Panamanian Politics: The Intriguing Formative Years." Danville, Ill.: Interstate Publishers. OCLC 138568. (1971)
* "Goethals, George Washington" in ''American National Biography''. American Council of Learned Societies, 2000.
*{{cite book|last=McGovern|first=Rory|year=2019|title=George W. Goethals and the Army: Change and Continuity in the Gilded Age and Progressive Era|publisher=[[University Press of Kansas]]|isbn=978-0700627707}}

==External links==
* [http://www.pancanal.com/eng/history/biographies/goethals.html Panama Canal Authority biography] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070622031957/http://www.pancanal.com/eng/history/biographies/goethals.html |date=June 22, 2007 }}

{{Commons category}}
*{{Cite CAB|wstitle=Goethals, George Washington |short=x}}
*{{Cite Collier's|wstitle=Goethals, George Washington |short=x}}
*{{Cite EB1922|wstitle=Goethals, George Washington |short=x}}
* {{PM20|FID=pe/006249}}

{{S-start}}
{{Succession box|
 before=Military Governor [[Richard Lee Metcalfe]]|
 title=[[List of Governors of Panama Canal Zone|Governor of Panama Canal Zone]]|years=1914–1917|
 after=[[Chester Harding (governor)|Chester Harding]]
}}
{{S-end}}

{{Panama Canal}}
{{Governors of the Panama Canal Zone}}
{{John Fritz Medal|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goethals, George Washington}}
[[Category:1858 births]]
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