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Leland Stanford

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Entrepreneur

The Resume

    (March 9, 1824-June 21, 1893)
    Born in Watervliet, New York
    Birth name was Amasa Leland Stanford
    Industrialist, politician, and philanthropist
    President of the Central Pacific (1861-93) and Southern Pacific (1868-90) railroads and Pacific Life insurance (1868-76)
    Governor of California (1882-83)
    Senator from California (1883-93)
    Republican
    Founded Stanford University

Why he might be annoying:

    As governor, he gave several speeches about the perils of unchecked Chinese immigration, even though his railroads were the largest employer of Chinese immigrants.
    He used his position as governor to funnel state funds to the Central Pacific.
    Fellow Central Pacific board member Charles Crocker complained, 'I never knew him to do much himself. He is awful lazy and never attends to details.'
    During the Golden Spike ceremony in which the Central Pacific and Union Pacific lines met, completing the transcontinental railroad (May 10,, 1869), he missed when he swung a hammer to drive in the last spike. (Union Pacific President Oliver Ames also failed to drive in the spike, although there was speculation that Ames deliberately missed to avoid showing up Stanford.)

Why he might not be annoying:

    He was an attorney until his office and law library burned down, after which he joined his five brothers in traveling to the California goldfields, where he opened a general store for miners.
    He funded the work of photographer and motion picture pioneer Eadweard Muybridge, particularly his short film 'Sallie Gardner at a Gallop,' which showed that all four of a horse's feet are off the ground at the same time while running.
    HIs only child, Leland Jr., died of typhoid fever at age 15 (1884).
    After their son's death, he told his wife, 'The children of California will be our children,' and founded Stanford University as a memorial.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 22 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 6 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 4 Votes: 0% Annoying