Huntington, Collis P.

Huntington, Collis P.

▪ American railroad magnate
in full  Collis Potter Huntington  
born Oct. 22, 1821, Harwinton, Conn., U.S.
died Aug. 13, 1900, Raquette Lake, N.Y.
 American railroad magnate who promoted the Central Pacific Railroad's (Central Pacific Railroad) extension across the West, making possible the first transcontinental railroad in 1869.

      Born into a poor family, Huntington worked as an itinerant peddler and became a prosperous merchant in Oneonta, N.Y., before moving to Sacramento, Calif., in the gold rush year of 1849. There he became a partner with Mark Hopkins in a successful wholesale-retail firm that specialized in miners' supplies. In the late 1850s he became interested in a plan to link California with the eastern United States by rail, and he joined Hopkins, Leland Stanford, and Charles Crocker (a group later known as the Big Four) in their joint incorporation of the Central Pacific Railroad in 1861, which was soon designated as the western part of the projected transcontinental railroad.

      During the actual construction (1863–69) of the Central Pacific Railroad, Huntington lobbied for the company in the east, working to secure financing and favourable legislation from Congress and the federal government. In 1865 the Big Four formed the Southern Pacific Railroad, which constructed rail lines down southern California and across the Southwest to New Orleans, again with Huntington serving as chief political and financial lobbyist. Huntington helped expand the Southern Pacific Railroad into a 9,600-mile (15,450-kilometre) line that was the foundation of rail service in California and the western link for a southern transcontinental rail route. He also extended the lines of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, which he had bought in 1869, to link with the Southern Pacific, forming a 4,000-mile (6,440-kilometre) continuous track from San Francisco to Newport News, Va.

      Huntington became president of the Southern Pacific–Central Pacific rail system in 1890 and thus controlled a vast empire of rail lines and agricultural landholdings in California until his death.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Huntington,Collis Potter — Huntington, Collis Potter. 1821 1900. American transportation executive who built the western section of the first U.S. transcontinental railroad (completed 1869). * * * …   Universalium

  • Huntington, Collis P(otter) — born Oct. 22, 1821, Harwinton, Conn., U.S. died Aug. 13, 1900, Raquette Lake, N.Y. U.S. railroad magnate. He worked as a peddler before becoming a prosperous merchant in Oneonta, N.Y. In the gold rush year of 1849, he moved to Sacramento, Calif …   Universalium

  • Huntington, Collis P(otter) — (22 oct. 1821, Harwinton, Conn., EE.UU.–13 ago. 1900, Raquette Lake, N.Y.). Magnate ferroviario estadounidense. Fue vendedor ambulante antes de convertirse en un próspero comerciante en Oneonta, N.Y. En 1849, el año de la fiebre del oro, se… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Collis Potter Huntington — Collis P. Huntington, c.1872 by Stephen W. Shaw Born October 22, 1821(1821 10 22) Harwinton, Connecticut, USA …   Wikipedia

  • Collis P. Huntington — Collis Potter Huntington (* 22. Oktober 1821 in Harwinton (USA); † 13. August 1900 in New York) war einer der Big Four (großen Vier) im Eisenbahnbau im Westen der USA (zusammen mit Leland Stanford, Mark Hopkins und Charles Crocker), die die… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Collis Huntington — Collis Potter Huntington Collis Potter Huntington Collis Potter Huntington (22 octobre ou 16 avril 1821 – 13 août 1900) était un des quatre investisseurs (le « Big Four ») qui créa, avec Leland Stanford, Mark Hopkins, et Charles Crock …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Collis P. Huntington — Collis Potter Huntington Collis Potter Huntington Collis Potter Huntington (22 octobre ou 16 avril 1821 – 13 août 1900) était un des quatre investisseurs (le « Big Four ») qui créa, avec Leland Stanford, Mark Hopkins, et Charles Crock …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Collis Potter Huntington — (22 octobre ou 16 avril 1821 – 13 août 1900) était un des quatre investisseurs (le « Big Four ») qui créa, avec Leland Stanford, Mark Hopkins, et Charles Crocker, la compagnie de chemin de fer …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Huntington Free Library and Reading Room — The Huntington Free Library is a privately endowed library in the Bronx borough of New York City which is open to the public. It has a non circulating book collection.The Reading Room collection is a turn of the century library. It includes… …   Wikipedia

  • Huntington — /hun ting teuhn/, n. 1. Collis Potter, 1821 1900, U.S. railroad developer. 2. Samuel, 1731 96, U.S. statesman: governor of Connecticut 1786 96. 3. a city in W West Virginia, on the Ohio River. 63,684. 4. a city in NE Indiana. 16,202. 5. a male… …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”