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Miraculously, it all worked perfectly. Thanks largely to the efforts of Major General George W. Goethals and his predecessor as chief engineer, John Stevens, the canal was not only completed on time, in 1914, but for $23 million less than had been estimated by the U.S. in 1907. By the time the steamship Ancon sailed through the canal in the official grand opening on Aug. 15,1914, World War I had just erupted and the celebrations were subdued. Even so, the canal was—and is—one of mankind's most memorable achievements, the moon shot of its day.