Samuel Diescher, a prominent civil and mechanical engineer, was born in Budapest, educated at Karlsruhe Polytechnique and at the University of Zurich. Coming to the United States in 1866, he settled in Cincinnati, where he built his first inclined plane. He came to Pittsburgh and was associated with John Endres, the builder of the Monongahela Incline. He married Endres daughter, Caroline Endres, who was one of the first female engineers in the United States.