Edward Manning Bigelow

Edward Manning Bigelow (1850–1916), known as the "father of Pittsburgh's parks", was an American City Engineer and later Director of Public Works in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was responsible for major improvements in city's infrastructure, such as new boulevards, waterworks, and parks, many of them in today's Oakland neighborhood.

Edward Manning Bigelow was born in Pittsburgh on 6 November 1850. A Presbyterian, he attended Western University of Pennsylvania (today's University of Pittsburgh) as a civil engineering student. In 1880 he married Mary Peabody; they had no children.

In the late 19th century Pittsburgh became a boomtown, known as a Steel City for its high concentration of steel mills. Bigelow, a close friend of Andrew Carnegie, joined the city administration and was appointed City Engineer in 1880. The position was transformed in 1888 into Director of Public Works, a position he held for three terms of office, first from 1888 to 1900, again between Jul 1901 and Nov 1901, and then from 1903 to 1906. In 1911 the Governor of Pennsylvania named him as a commissioner of the newly formed State Highway Department from 1911 to 1915.

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