Entrepreneurs & Inventors of the 19th Century

Cornelius Vanderbilt

A railroad owner who built a railway connecting Chicago and New York. He popularized the use of steel rails in his railroad, which made railroads safer and more economical. Known as the "Railroad King."

John D. Rockefeller

Was an American industrialist and philanthropist. Revolutionized the petroleum industry and defined the structure of modern philanthropy.

Andrew Carnegie

A Scottish-born American industrialist and philanthropist whose company dominated the American steel industry.

J.P. Morgan

A highly successful banker & financier who bought out Carnegie. With Carnegie's holdings and some others, he launched U.S Steel and made it the first billion dollar corporation.

Phillip Armour

Pioneered the shipping of hogs to Chicago for slaughter, canning, and exporting of meat.

Gustavus Swift

Developer of an efficient system of mechanical refrigeration, an innovation that earned him a fortune and provided a major stimulus to the growth of the cattle industry.

George Pullman

made his fortune by designing and building sleeper cars that made long distance rail travel more comfortable. Built a company town near Chicago for his employees.

Orville and Wilbur Wright

These brothers were bicycle mechanics from Dayton, Ohio who built and flew the first plane at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina on December 17, 1903.

Alexander Graham Bell

Invented the telephone, which revolutionized the communication industry forever.

Thomas Edison

American inventor best known for inventing the electric light bulb, acoustic recording on wax cylinders, and motion pictures.

Nikola Tesla

Invented the Alternating Current (AC current) for electricity.

Henry Bessemer

Englishman who developed the first efficient method for the mass production of steel

Madam C.J. Walker (Sarah Breedlove)

First self made millionaire woman. Made hair products for African American women.

Frederick Taylor

American mechanical engineer, who wanted to improve industrial efficiency. He is known as the father of scientific management, and was one of the first management consultants