|
|
|
Born in 1825, Engineer Justus Dirks was the grandchild of Reverend Jacobus Johannes Dirks, the eldest son of his youngest child. Justus Dirks was an immensely important hydraulic engineer of his time and his name crops up wherever Dutch Naval Engineering and Canal Engineering is mentioned. He gained fame, among other things, through the construction of the North Sea Canal, the waterway connecting Amsterdam, and hence much of the Netherlands, to the North Sea.
There are other canal structures in the Netherlands and abroad that he was involved in. Outside of the Netherlands, Justus took part in the congress to build the Panama Canal, he worked on assignments in Belgium, Denmark, Chile, and gave advice on the Egyptian project to double the capacity of the Suez Canal.
A monument was erected in his honour in 1923 and stands at the entrance to the North Sea Canal at Ijmuiden, near Amsterdam.
The inscription reads "In memory of Justus Dirks, Lead Engineer 1st Class of the Water Board, prime Engineer at the Amsterdam Canal Company. The North Sea Canal is largely thanks to his technical lead. In many other important works in our Country and outside he continually upheld the reputation of Dutch Engineers"
Justus also received numerous medals and awards as official recognition for his work and achievements. Three of the medals are now in the possession of a descendant living in Argentina, who has kindly taken photographs of them to show on this webpage. They are (click on any to enlarge and see more details):
Justus's life, his achievements, the medals and recognitions he received during his lifetime were described in detail during a meeting of the Royal Institute of Engineers in 1887, held on the occasion of his passing. You can read an extract of the Minutes of this meeting (in Dutch and in English) by clicking here 
More information on Justus Dirks can be found on the Dutch AbsoluteFacts website , which specialises in historical facts on the Netherlands. For an English translation, click here
Information can also be found on the Graces Guide website , which specialises in historical information on industry and manufacturing in Europe.