An American businessman who began as a Staten Island ferry operator before building a dominant steamboat business on the Hudson River and Long Island Sound, earning the nickname the Commodore, and later oceangoing steamship routes during the California Gold Rush era. From 1863 he turned to railroads, acquiring the New York and Harlem, Hudson River and New York Central lines and consolidating them in 1870 into the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad, one of the first giant corporations in American history; he also built Grand Central Depot, completed 1871, as its Manhattan terminus. At his death his fortune, an estimated 105 million dollars, made him one of the wealthiest Americans of his era. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
FAQs
Why was Cornelius Vanderbilt called the Commodore?
Other steamboat captains began calling him the Commodore in jest while he ran a ferry as a young man; by the end of the 1840s the title was used only for him.
The nickname began as a joke. According to the account Wikipedia gives of his youth, other captains near his Staten Island ferry took to calling him the Commodore in jest because of his energy and eagerness in the trade, and it stuck for life. He was first referred to as commodore in the 1830s. At that time commodore was the highest rank in the United States Navy, and it was a common nickname for important steamboat entrepreneurs. By the end of the 1840s it was applied only to Vanderbilt.
Is Vanderbilt University connected to Cornelius Vanderbilt?
Yes. His gift of 1 million dollars helped found the university in Nashville that bears his name.
Yes. Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee is named in his honor. His second wife convinced him to give 1 million dollars, the largest charitable gift in American history up to that date, to Bishop Holland Nimmons McTyeire to found the university. A statue of Vanderbilt by Giuseppe Moretti, made in 1897, stands near Kirkland Hall on the campus in commemoration of the gift.
Connections
Preceded By
Source Wikipedia: Cornelius Vanderbilt
In the Other Atlases
Nationality
Also in Geography Atlas: the nationality of this subject.
Source Wikipedia: Cornelius VanderbiltLead sentence 1tier 2Quote, Lead sentence 1
Cornelius Vanderbilt (May 27, 1794 – January 4, 1877), nicknamed "the Commodore", was an American business magnate who built his wealth in railroads and shipping.
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Cornelius Vanderbilt
Wikipedia- Steamboats and Railroads sections
Lead section (nickname)
Cornelius Vanderbilt (May 27, 1794, January 4, 1877), nicknamed "the Commodore", was an American business magnate who built his wealth in railroads and shipping.
Preceded By: Robert Fulton
Gibbons was fighting against a steamboat monopoly in New York waters, which had been granted by the New York State Legislature to the politically influential patrician Robert Livingston and Robert Fulton, who had designed the steamboat.
In Group: Shipping Magnates and Shipowners, Lead sentence
Cornelius Vanderbilt (May 27, 1794, January 4, 1877), nicknamed "the Commodore", was an American business magnate who built his wealth in railroads and shipping.
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