William Francis Gibbs (1886-1967) spent forty years willing the SS United States into existence. He was not only a student of naval architecture, but also of art, music, and theater. He had to remake himself in order to make his dream come true.
Most people only saw obstacles to build a 1,000-foot-long superliner that combined beauty, speed, strength, and utility.
Gibbs, on the other hand, was pure will. A lot of it came from childhood pain and disappointment. As the philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer wrote:
Therefore the man of genius requires imagination, in order to see in things not what nature has actually formed, but what she endeavored to form, yet did not bring about, because of the conflict of her forms with one another.
For Gibbs, the creation of the SS United States was just as much shaping others as it was about bending steel and aluminum. What he left us has lasted far longer than the typical ocean liner: 72 years versus 30 years. She enjoyed 17 years of grace and 55 years of neglect and abuse.
We live in an age that demands quick fixes, slogans, clicks, and memes. Almost all that is now trendy will soon be forgotten.
Whether or not the ship itself endures, the spirit of William Francis Gibbs (and the human drive to create) will last a very long time.
For more, read A Man and His Ship: America’s Greatest Naval Architect and His Quest to Build the SS United States.
“American Tune” by Paul Simon sums up the spirit of William Francis Gibbs and the ship he has left behind: “I’ve often felt forsaken, and certainly misused. But I’m alright. Just weary to my bones.”
The Creative Spirit of William Francis Gibbs