# Fame.am profile — machine-readable export
# Canonical URL: https://fame.am/person/james-finley
# Generated: 2026-08-13T19:26:58.963Z

schema: https://schema.org/Person
url: "https://fame.am/person/james-finley"
name: "James Finley"
slug: "james-finley"
description: "James Finley, aka Judge James Finley, is widely recognized as the first designer and builder of the modern suspension bridge. Born in Ireland, Finley moved to a 287-acre (1.16 km2) farm in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, near Uniontown. Elected a justice of the peace in 1784, he went on to become county commissioner in 1789, and a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and Senate. From 1791 until his death, he was an Associate Judge for Fayette County.\n\nHis Jacob's Creek Bridge, built in 1801 for US$600, and demolished in 1833, was the first example of a suspension bridge using wrought iron chains and with a level deck. It connected Uniontown to Greensburg, spanning 70 feet, and was 12 feet 6 inches (3.81 m) wide.\n\nFinley is also credited with designing and constructing a chain suspension bridge across Dunlap's Creek in Brownsville, Pennsylvania, in 1809. In 1820, however, the bridge collapsed under a heavy snow combined with the loads from a six-horse wagon team. The bridge was replaced by the Dunlap's Creek Bridge, the country's first cast-iron bridge, in 1835."
tagline: "American civil engineer"
image: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/View_of_the_Chain_Bridge_The_Port_Folio_June_1810.jpg/330px-View_of_the_Chain_Bridge_The_Port_Folio_June_1810.jpg"
gender: "male"
country:
  name: "United States"
  isoCode: "US"
category:
  name: "Scientists"
  slug: "scientists"
profileType:
  name: "Scientist"
  slug: "scientist"
  entityType: "https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q39631"
birthDate: "1756"
deathDate: "1828"
livingStatus: "DECEASED"
scores:
  popularity:           38.32
  momentum:             0
  historical:           7.005076
  currentAttention:     0
  sourceConfidence:     45
  profileCompleteness:  70
  trendDirection:       "FALLING"
ranks:
  global:   null
  country:  null
  category: null
sources:
  - url: "https://mg.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Finley"
    title: "James Finley"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%AC%D9%8A%D9%85%D8%B3_%D9%81%D9%8A%D9%86%D9%84%D9%8A"
    title: "جيمس فينلي"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://arz.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%AC%D9%8A%D9%85%D8%B3_%D9%81%D9%8A%D9%86%D9%84%D9%89"
    title: "جيمس فينلى"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Finley"
    title: "James Finley"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Finley_(engineer)"
    title: "James Finley (engineer)"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Finley_(ingeniero)"
    title: "James Finley (ingeniero)"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Finley"
    title: "James Finley"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Finley_(ing%C3%A9nieur)"
    title: "James Finley (ingénieur)"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1540908"
    title: "Wikidata"
    type:  "WIKIDATA"

# bio (long form, separated for readability)
bio: |
  Imported from discovery source: wikidata-dump