James Jerome Hill (September 16, 1838 РMay 29, 1916), was a noted Canadian-American railroad executive. He was the chief executive officer of a family of lines headed by the Great Northern Railway, which served a substantial area of the Upper Midwest, the northern Great Plains, and Pacific Northwest. Because of the size of this region and the economic dominance exerted by the Hill lines, Hill became known during his lifetime as the Empire Builder. James J. Hill at about 35 years of age (~1875). ... is the 259th day of the year (260th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... | J̦ns Jakob Berzelius, discoverer of protein 1838 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... is the 149th day of the year (150th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Friday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Canadian-American refers to a member of that group of people living in the United States who were born, raised, or (to a lesser extent) possess ancestral ties to Canada. ... This is the top-level page of WikiProject trains Rail tracks Rail transport refers to the land transport of passengers and goods along railways or railroads. ... Chief Executive redirects here. ... A Great Northern train pauses for the photographer four miles west of Minot, North Dakota in 1914. ... This article is about the Midwestern region in the United States. ... For other uses, see Great Plains (disambiguation). ... The Pacific Northwest from space The Pacific Northwest, abbreviated PNW, or PacNW is a region in the northwest of North America. ...

Life

Childhood and youth

Hill was born in Eramosa Township, Wellington County, Upper Canada (now Ontario). A childhood accident blinded him in the right eye (cutter shack). He had nine years of formal schooling. He attended the Rockwood Academy for a short while, where the head gave him free tuition.[1] He was forced to leave school in 1852 due to the death of his father. By the time he had finished, he was adept at algebra, geometry, land surveying, and English. His particular talents for English and mathematics would be critical later in his life. Wellington County, Ontario Wellington County, New South Wales, a former county, containing the town of Mudgee. ... Flag Map of Upper Canada (orange) Capital Newark 1792 - 1797 York(later renamed Toronto in 1834) 1797 - 1841 Language(s) English Religion Anglican Government Constitutional monarchy Sovereign  - 1791-1820 George III  - 1837-1841 Victoria Lieutenant-Governor See list of Lieutenant-Governors Legislature Parliament of Upper Canada  - Upper house Legislative Council... This article is about the Canadian province. ... Students in Rome, Italy. ... Rockwood Academy was a private school in Rockwood, Ontario. ... This article is about the branch of mathematics. ... For other uses, see Geometry (disambiguation). ... Surveyor at work Surveying is the art and science of accurately determining the position of points and the distances between them. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... For other meanings of mathematics or uses of math and maths, see Mathematics (disambiguation) and Math (disambiguation). ...

After working hard as a clerk in Kentucky (during which he learned bookkeeping), Hill moved to the United States and settled in St. Paul, Minnesota, at the age of 18. His first job in St. Paul was with a steamboat company, where he worked as a bookkeeper. By 1860, he was working for wholesale grocers, for whom he handled freight transfers, especially dealing with railroads and steamboats. Through this work, he learned all aspects of the freight and transportation business. During this period, Hill began to work for himself for the first time. During the winter months when the Mississippi River was frozen and steamboats could not run, Hill started bidding on other contracts and won quite a few. Particularly of note was his contract to provide wood fuel to the nearby Fort Snelling. For other uses, see Clerk (disambiguation). ... Bookkeeping (also book-keeping or book keeping) is the recording of all financial transactions undertaken by an individual or organization. ... State capitol building in Saint Paul Saint Paul is the capital and second-largest city of the state of Minnesota in the United States of America. ... For other uses, see Steamboat (disambiguation). ... Wholesaling consists of the sale of goods/merchandise to retailers, to industrial, commercial, institutional, or other professional business users or to other wholesalers and related subordinated services. ... A grocer is a dealer in staple foodstuffs, such as meats, produce or dairy products, and other household supplies. ... Freight is a term used to classify the transportation of cargo and is typically a commercial process. ... For other uses, see Winter (disambiguation). ... For the river in Canada, see Mississippi River (Ontario). ... For other uses, see Wood (disambiguation). ... Fort Snelling is a former military fortification located at the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers in Hennepin County, Minnesota. ...

The young businessman

Because of his previous experiences in shipping and fuel supply, Hill was able aggressively to enter both the coal and steamboat businesses. In 1870, he entered the steamboat business and by 1872 he had a local monopoly by merging (with Norman Kittson). In 1867, Hill entered the coal business, and by 1874 it had expanded five times over, giving Hill a local monopoly in the anthracite coal business. During this same period, Hill also entered into banking and quickly managed to become member of several major banks' boards of directors. Even with all of this, Hill still managed to grab at any extra business opportunities that came his way. He often bought out bankrupt businesses, built them up again, and then resold them—often gaining a huge profit. Damaged package The Panama canal. ... For other uses, see Fuel (disambiguation). ... Coal Example chemical structure of coal Coal is a fossil fuel formed in ecosystems where plant remains were saved by water and mud from oxidization and biodegradation. ... This article is about the economic term. ... Norman Wolfred Kittson ( 5 March 1814 – 10 May 1888) was variously a fur trader, steamboat-line operator, and railway entrepreneur. ... Anthracite coal Anthracite (Greek Ανθρακίτης, literally a form of coal, from Anthrax [Άνθραξ], coal) is a hard, compact variety of mineral coal that has a high luster. ... For other uses, see Bank (disambiguation). ... A board of directors is a group of individuals chosen by the stockholders of a company to promote their interests through the goverance of the company. ... Bankruptcy is a legally declared inability or impairment of ability of an individual or organization to pay their creditors. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

Virtually all of this early and stunning success was due to a few key traits—traits that would reappear again and again as Hill made his way through the world of business. Firstly, he was incredibly hard-working. It takes a huge amount of diligence to tackle more than one grand project at the same time, and Hill was not only undertaking to monopolize the steamboat business. He was monopolizing coal, getting friendly with bankers, and buying out other businesses at the same time. All of that requires a large degree of dedication. Hill noted that the secret to success was, "Work, hard work, intelligent work, and then more work." In biology, a trait or character is a genetically inherited feature of an organism. ... Secrecy is the condition of hiding information from others. ... Look up success in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Secondly, he was almost maniacally competitive. He took it almost as a point of personal honor to be the best, the biggest and the most competitive of any business out there. The term maniac can mean more than one thing: (archaic) A maniac is a person who exhibits the behaviour known as mania. ...

Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, Hill was simply a brilliant man and a brilliant leader of men. He was able to quickly pick up the nuances of working in any new business. His business strategy was amazing and he was able to persuade almost anyone to come to his side. All of these traits had a role in Hill's precipitous rise to power—most especially his almost uncanny ability to predict the future of business, as shown by the way he entered the railroad business in 1877.

Entry into Gilded Age railroading

During the Panic of 1873, a number of railroads, including the St. Paul and Pacific (StP&P), had gone bankrupt. The StP&P in particular was caught in an almost hopeless legal muddle. For James Hill, a man with the intelligence and perseverance to fix the problems, it was a golden opportunity. For three years, Hill researched the StP&P and finally concluded that it would be possible to make a good deal of money off of the StP&P, provided that the initial capital could be found. So Hill teamed up with Norman Kittson (the man he had merged steamboat businesses with), Donald Smith, George Stephen and John S. Kennedy. Together they not only bought the railroad, they also vastly expanded it by bargaining for trackage rights with Northern Pacific Railway. In May 1879, the St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Manitoba Railway Co. (StPM&M) formed—with James J. Hill as general manager. His first goal was to expand and upgrade even more. Run on the Fourth National Bank, No. ... Norman Wolfred Kittson ( 5 March 1814 – 10 May 1888) was variously a fur trader, steamboat-line operator, and railway entrepreneur. ... George Stephen, 1st Baron Mount Stephen (June 5, 1829 – November 29, 1921) was a Scots-Quebecker banker and railway executive in Canada. ... The Northern Pacific Railway (AAR reporting marks NP) was a railway that operated in the north-central region of the United States. ... Look up Upgrade on Wiktionary, the free dictionary Upgrading is the process of replacing an older thing with a newer thing. ...

By all accounts, Hill was a hands-on, detail-obsessed manager. He wanted people settling along his rail lines, so he sold homesteads to immigrants and then imported them to their new homes (on his rail lines, of course). He imported grains from Russia and sold this to farmers. He even sold wood to farmers in order to encourage them to buy his wheat. When he was looking for the best path for one of his tracks to take, he went out on horseback and scouted it out personally. Under his skillful management, StPM&M prospered. In 1880, its net worth was $728,000; in 1885 it was $25,000,000. he is the best in the world, some call him the junior jose, special 1 version 2 ...

One of his challenges at this point was the avoidance of federal action against railroads. If the federal government believed that the railroads were making too much profit, they might see this as an opportunity to force lowering of the railway tariff rates. Hill cleverly avoided this by investing a large portion of the railroad's profit back into the railroad itself—and charged those investments to operating expense. It was at this point that Hill became the official president of StPM&M (not that he hadn't been the man behind the curtain far before this), and decided to expand the rail lines even further. The government of the United States, established by the United States Constitution, is a federal republic of 50 states, a few territories and some protectorates. ...

James J. Hill ca. 1890

James J. Hill unknown date, probably near 1890 or 1900. ... James J. Hill unknown date, probably near 1890 or 1900. ...

The "Empire Builder"

Between 1883 and 1889, Hill built his railroads across Minnesota, into Wisconsin, and across North Dakota to Montana. Hill and his men worked in spite of all obstacles—including a presidential veto of a bill that would have allowed Hill legally to build through American Indian territory (the law preventing Hill from laying track across Indian territories was later repealed under President Grover Cleveland, who like Hill was a Bourbon Democrat). Capital Saint Paul Largest city Minneapolis Largest metro area Minneapolis-St. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... Official language(s) English Capital Bismarck Largest city Fargo Area  Ranked 19th in the US  - Total 70,762 sq mi (183,272 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 340 miles (545 km)  - % water 2. ... This article is about the U.S. State. ... Federal courts Supreme Court Circuit Courts of Appeal District Courts Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Atlas  US Government Portal      For other uses, see President of the United States (disambiguation). ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... This article is about the people indigenous to the United States. ... Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837–June 24, 1908), was the twenty-second and twenty-fourth President of the United States. ... Bourbon Democrat was a term used in the United States from 1876 to 1904 to refer to a conservative or reactionary member of the Democratic Party, especially one who supported President Grover Cleveland in 1884–1896 and Alton B. Parker in 1904. ...

When there was not enough industry in the areas Hill was building, Hill brought the industry in, often by buying out a company and placing plants along his railroad lines. By 1889, Hill decided that his future lay in expanding into a transcontinental railroad. A Transcontinental Railroad is a railway that crosses a continent typically from sea to sea. Terminals are at or connected to different oceans. ...

"What we want," Hill is quoted as saying, "is the best possible line, shortest distance, lowest grades, and least curvature we can build. We do not care enough for Rocky Mountains scenery to spend a large sum of money developing it." Hill got what he wanted, and in January 1893 his Great Northern Railway, running from St. Paul, Minnesota to Seattle, Washington — a distance of more than 1,700 miles — was completed. The Great Northern was the first transcontinental built without public money and just a few land grants and was one of the few transcontinental railroads not to go bankrupt. For individual mountains named Rocky Mountain, see Rocky Mountain (disambiguation). ... A Great Northern train pauses for the photographer four miles west of Minot, North Dakota in 1914. ... A land grant is a gift of land made by the government for projects such as roads, railroads, or especially academic institutions. ...

Hill chose to build his railroad north of the competing Northern Pacific line, which had reached the Pacific Northwest over much more difficult terrain with more bridges, steeper grades, and tunnelling. Hill did much of the route planning himself, travelling over proposed routed on horseback. The key to the Great Northern line was Hill's use of the previously unmapped Marias Pass. The pass had been discovered by John Frank Stevens, principal engineer of the Great Northern Railway, in December of 1889, and offered an easier route across the Rockies than that taken by the Northern Pacific. Marias Pass (elevation 5213 ft (1588m)) is a mountain pass in the vicinity of Glacier National Park in northwestern Montana in the United States. ... Portrait of John Frank Stevens John F. Stevens (25 April 1853–2 June 1943) built the Great Northern Railroad in the United States and was chief engineer on the Panama Canal. ...

The Great Northern reached Seattle in 1893.

The Hill Lines: The 1890s

Six months after this amazing feat came the depression called the Panic of 1893. Hill's leadership became a case study in the successful management of a capital-intensive business during the economic downturn. In order to ensure that he did not lose his patronage during the crisis, Hill lowered rail tariff shipping rates for farmers and gave credit to many of the businesses he owned, so they were able to continue paying their workers. He also took strong measures to economize—in just one year, Hill cut the railway's expense of carrying a ton of freight by thirteen percent. Because of these measures, Hill not only stayed in business, but also increased the net worth of his railroad by nearly $10 million. Meanwhile, nearly every other transcontinental railroad went bankrupt. His ability to ride out the depression garnered him fame and admiration. In economics, a depression is a term commonly used for a sustained downturn in the economy. ... The Panic of 1893 was a serious decline in the economy of the United States that began in 1893 and was precipitated in part by a run on the gold supply. ... Not to be confused with capitol. ... Credit as a financial term, used in such terms as credit card, refers to the granting of a loan and the creation of debt. ... Look up ton in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A percentage is a way of expressing a proportion, a ratio or a fraction as a whole number, by using 100 as the denominator. ...

Part of Hill's success during the depression also was due to repeatedly cutting his employees' wages. That, and his hard micromanaging practices, eventually led to a railway-wide strike and the workers' unionization under the leadership of Eugene V. Debs. Hill and Debs agreed to arbitration by other business owners led by Charles Pillsbury. The result was restoration of the workers' wages to pre-depression levels. Eugene Victor Debs (November 5, 1855 – October 20, 1926) was an American labor and political leader, one of the founders of the International Labor Union, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), and five-time Socialist Party of America candidate for President of the United States. ... Charlie Pillsbury is a mediator, lawyer, and community activist in New Haven, Connecticut, where he is the executive director of Community Mediation, Inc. ...

The Northern Pacific and the "short squeeze" of 1901

With 1901 and the start of the new century, James Hill now had control of both the Great Northern Railroad (which he had renamed the StPM&M), and the Northern Pacific (which he had obtained with the help of his friend J. P. Morgan, when that railroad went bankrupt in the depression of the mid-1890s). Hill also wanted control of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy railroad because of its Midwestern lines and access to Chicago. Unfortunately for Hill, Union Pacific Railroad, the biggest competitor of Great Northern and Northern Pacific, also wanted control of Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy. Although Great Northern and Northern Pacific were backed by J. P. Morgan and James J. Hill, the Union Pacific was backed not only by its president, Edward H. Harriman, but by the extremely powerful William Rockefeller. The Northern Pacific Railway (AAR reporting marks NP) was a railway that operated in the north-central region of the United States. ... This article is about the financier. ... The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (AAR reporting mark CBQ) was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. ... The Midwest is a common name for a region of the United States of America. ... Union Pacific redirects here. ... This article is about the financier. ... Edward Henry Harriman (February 20, 1848 – September 9, 1909), better known as E. H. Harriman, was a wealthy railroad executive. ... William Rockefeller (May 31, 1841-June 24, 1922), American financier, was a cofounder of the prominent United States Rockefeller family. ...

Quietly, Harriman began buying stock in Northern Pacific with the intention of gaining control of Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy. He was within 40,000 shares of control when Hill learned of Harriman's activities and quickly contacted J. P. Morgan, who was on vacation in Europe at the time. Morgan, acting on behalf of his friend, ordered his men to buy everything they could get their hands on. For other uses, see Stock (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ...

James J. Hill's home, 240 Summit Avenue, St. Paul, Minnesota

The result was chaos on Wall Street. Northern Pacific stock was forced up to $1,000 per share. Many speculators, who had sold Northern Pacific "short" in the anticipation of a drop in the railroad's price, faced ruin. The threat of a real economic panic loomed. Neither side could win a distinct advantage, and the parties soon realized that a truce would have to be called. The winners of that truce were Hill and Morgan, who immediately formed the Northern Securities Company with the aim of tying together their three major rail lines. Unfortunately for the Hill-Morgan alliance, on the same day they formed the Northern Securities Company, President William McKinley was assassinated, placing Theodore Roosevelt—the "trust-buster"—in the office of President. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 555 pixelsFull resolution (953 × 661 pixel, file size: 120 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) (All user names refer to en. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 555 pixelsFull resolution (953 × 661 pixel, file size: 120 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) (All user names refer to en. ... Elaborate marble facade of NYSE as seen from the intersection of Broad and Wall Streets For other uses, see Wall Street (disambiguation). ... Speculation is the buying, holding, and selling of stocks, commodities, futures, currencies, collectibles, real estate, or any valuable thing to profit from fluctuations in its price as opposed to buying it for use or for income - dividends, rent etc. ... It has been suggested that Short (finance) be merged into this article or section. ... Northern Securities Company was a large railroad conglomerate formed in 1901 by financiers J.P. Morgan, James J. Hill, J. D. Rockefeller, E. H. Harriman and others. ... This article is about the 25th President of the United States; for other people named William McKinley, see William McKinley (disambiguation). ... This is an incomplete list of persons that were assassinated for political and other reasons, and who have individual entries. ... For other persons named Theodore Roosevelt, see Theodore Roosevelt (disambiguation). ... A trust or business trust was a form of business entity used in the late 19th century with intent to create a monopoly. ...

The Hill Lines survive the trust-busting era

Roosevelt wasted little time in breaking apart the trust. On March 14, the Northern Securities Company was ordered to be dissolved under the Sherman Antitrust Act. However, Hill, without the benefit of a central company, managed to acquire the Colorado and Southern Railroad lines into Texas, and the Spokane, Portland, and Seattle Railway. By the time of his death in 1916, James J. Hill was worth more than $53 million (almost $2.5 billion (2007) dollars). John Sherman The Sherman Antitrust Act (Sherman Act[1], July 2, 1890, ch. ... The Colorado & Southern Railroad began as the consolidation of bankrupt railroads on 1898. ... For other uses, see Texas (disambiguation). ... Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway coach at Snoqualmie, Washington (Northwest Railway Museum collection) The Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway (AAR reporting mark SPS) was a United States-based railroad incorporated in 1905. ...

The Great Northern Railway and the Northern Pacific tried to merge four times, in 1896, 1901, 1927, and 1955. This last attempt lasted from 1955 until final United States Supreme Court approval and merger in March, 1970, which created the Burlington Northern Railroad. In 1995, Burlington Northern merged with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway to become Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF Railway). A Great Northern train pauses for the photographer four miles west of Minot, North Dakota in 1914. ... The Northern Pacific Railway (AAR reporting marks NP) was a railway that operated in the north-central region of the United States. ... The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C., (large image) The Supreme Court of the United States, located in Washington, D.C., is the highest court (see supreme court) in the United States; that is, it has ultimate judicial authority within the United States... The Burlington Northern Railroad (AAR reporting marks BN) was a United States-based railroad company operating between 1970 and 1995. ... The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (AAR reporting marks ATSF), often abbreviated as Santa Fe, was one of the largest railroads in the United States. ... The BNSF Railway (AAR reporting marks BNSF), headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, is one of the four remaining transcontinental railroads and one of the largest railroad networks in North America (only one competitor, the Union Pacific Railroad, is larger in size). ...

Family Life

In 1867, James J. Hill married Mary Theresa Mehegan, born in 1846 in New York City. They had 10 children:

1. Katherine (died in infancy)

2. Mary Hill Hill (Mrs. Samuel Hill of Washington D.C. & Seattle). Samuel Hill was an executive at The Great Northern Railroad when he married Mary Hill.

3. James N. Hill of New York City.

4. Louis W. Hill of St. Paul, Minn.

5. Ruth Hill Beard (Mrs. Anson McCook Beard of New York City).

6. Clara Hill Lindley (Mrs. E. C Lindley of St. Paul, Minn.) -- Vice President, Counsel General, and member of the Board of Directors of The Great Northern Railroad

7. Charlotte Hill Slade (Mrs. George T. Slade of New York City & St. Paul, Minn.)George T. Slade was an executive at The Great Northern Railway and Yale classmate of Louis W.Hill.

8. Rachel Hill Boeckmann (Mrs. Egil Boeckmann of St. Paul, Minn.)

9. Gertrude Hill Gavin (Mrs. Michael Gavin of New York City)

10. Walter Jerome Hill of St. Paul, Minn.

According to his obituary in "The New York Times, "James J. Hill died in his home in St. Paul, Minnesota on May 29, 1916.

"J.J. HILL'S 'EMPIRE' KEPT IN THE FAMILY; Deeds of Trust to His Sons, Grandsons, and Associates of Vast Landed Properties. SUCCESSORS PROVIDED FOR Trust to Continue 20 Years After Death of the Last Survivor" -- New York Times Article, Thursday, October 10, 1907. Those family members were the following: Louis W. Hill, his sons, Jerome Hill and Courtland Hill; Walter Jerome Hill; and George Norman Slade, son of George T. and Charlotte Hill Slade.

Mary Hill died in 1922 and was buried next to her husband by the shore of Pleasant Lake on their North Oaks farm. Because of vandals or curious admirers both graves were later moved to Resurrection Cemetery in St. Paul for safer keeping.

His Interest in Art

Hill was an avid collector and patron of the arts. "New York Times" described Mr. Hill, in his obituary, as "gifted with fine tastes and a keen artistic sense of beauty of form and color, and his collections of art and jewels were among the finest in the country."

Hill's legacy

A portrait of James J. Hill is now hung in the library in his home.

Politically, Hill was a Bourbon Democrat. The Democratic Party's continued enchantment with the populist William Jennings Bryan led Hill to support Republican presidential candidates William McKinley (1896 and 1900), Theodore Roosevelt (1904), William Howard Taft (1908 and 1912). Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Bourbon Democrat was a term used in the United States from 1876 to 1904 to refer to a conservative or reactionary member of the Democratic Party, especially one who supported President Grover Cleveland in 1884–1896 and Alton B. Parker in 1904. ... For other persons of the same name, see William Bryan. ... This article is about the 25th President of the United States; for other people named William McKinley, see William McKinley (disambiguation). ... For other persons named Theodore Roosevelt, see Theodore Roosevelt (disambiguation). ... For other persons named William Howard Taft, see William Howard Taft (disambiguation). ...

Hill was a supporter of free trade and was one of the few supporters of free trade with Canada. In St. Paul, the city's main library building and the adjoining Hill Business Library were funded by him. In addition, he donated to numerous schools, including the Saint Paul Seminary. Some attributed the financing of the Cathedral of St. Paul to Hill; but, in fact, it was his wife (who was a devout Roman Catholic, whereas Hill was a Protestant) who made significant financial contributions to its construction. Free trade is an economic concept referring to the selling of products between countries without tariffs or other trade barriers. ... St. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ...

In 1891, after three years of building, construction was completed on a new Hill family home on Summit Avenue in St. Paul. Over 400 workers labored on the project. Built at a cost of $930,000 and with 36,000 square feet, the James J. Hill House was among the City's largest. As with his business dealings, Hill supervised the construction and design himself, hiring and firing several architects in the process. The house has many early electrical and mechanical systems that predate widespread adoption in modern domestic structures. After the death of Hill's wife in 1921, the house was donated to the Diocese. It was obtained by the Minnesota Historical Society in 1978 and today is operated as a museum and gallery. Upon completion of the Summit Avenue residence, Hill had the family's old house, which he had constructed in 1878, razed. Completed in 1891, the mansion was the largest and most expensive home in Minnesota. ... Pope Pius XI blesses Bishop Stephen Alencastre as fifth Apostolic Vicar of the Hawaiian Islands in a Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace window. ... The Minnesota Historical Society is a Minnesota instutution dedicated to preserving the history of the state. ...

Though a Protestant, Hill maintained a strong philanthropic relationship with the Catholic Church in St. Paul and through the northwest. Hill's historic home is located next to the Cathedral, largely due to the special relationship Hill's wife, a practicing Catholic, had with the Diocese. The Hills maintained close ties with Archbishop John Ireland and Hill was a major contributor to the St. Paul Theological Seminary, Macalester College, Hamline University, the College of St. Thomas, Carleton College, and other educational, religious and charitable organizations. Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... This article is about John Ireland, an archbishop. ... Macalester College is a privately supported, coeducational liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota. ... Hamline University was founded in 1854 in Red Wing, Minnesota, USA, as the first institution of higher education in the state. ... The University of Saint Thomas (also known as UST or simply St. ... , Carleton College is an independent, non-sectarian, coeducational, liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, USA. The school was founded on November 14, 1866, by the Minnesota Conference of Congregational Churches as Northfield College. ...

In order to generate business for his railroad, Hill encouraged European immigrants to settle along his line, often paying for Russian and Scandinavian settlers to travel from Europe. To promote settlement and revenue for his rail business, Hill experimented with agriculture and worked to hybridize Russian wheat for Dakota soil and weather conditions. He also ran model experimental farms in Minnesota to develop superior livestock and crop yields for the settlers locating near his railroads.

An enthusiastic conservationist, Hill was invited by President Theodore Roosevelt to a governor's conference on conservation of natural resources, and later appointed to a lands commission.

Drawing on his experience in the development of Minnesota's Iron Range, Hill was, during 1911-1912, in close contact with Gaspard Farrer of Baring Brothers & Company of London regarding the formation of the Brazilian Iron Ore Company to tap that nation's rich mineral deposits. Barings Bank (1762 to 1995) was the oldest merchant banking company in London, England [1] until its collapse in 1995 after one of the banks employees, Nick Leeson, lost $1. ...

Near the end of his life, Hill played what a recent biographer, Albro Martin, called his "last and greatest role." After the first punishing year of World War I, the Allied Powers desperately needed financial support to continue the war effort. To that end, Hill was a major figure in the effort launched by J.P. Morgan to float the Anglo-French Bond drive of 1915, which allowed the Allies to purchase much-needed foodstuffs and other supplies. In September of 1915, the first public loan, the $500,000,000 Anglo-French loan, was floated. Concomitantly, the resulting trade in munitions with England and France carried the United States from a depression in 1914 to boom years in 1915 and 1916.[2] “The Great War ” redirects here. ... In general, allies are people or groups that have joined an alliance and are working together to achieve some common purpose. ...

Hillsboro, North Dakota; Hill County, Montana; and Hillyard, Washington (now a neighborhood of Spokane) - are named for him. In 1929, the Great Northern Railway named its flagship passenger train the Empire Builder in his honor. The train continues as Amtrak's daily Empire Builder, which uses former Great Northern tracks west of St. Paul, Minnesota. The James J. Hill House in St. Paul, Minnesota is a National Historical Landmark. Hillsboro is a city in Traill County, North Dakota in the United States. ... Hill County is a county located in the state of Montana. ... Hillyard, Washington was a town in Spokane County, Washington which existed as a separate town between 1892 and 1924. ... Nickname: Location of Spokane in Spokane County and Washington Coordinates: , Country United States State Washington County Spokane Government  - Mayor Dennis P. Hession Area  - City  58. ... The high-speed Acela Express in West Windsor, New Jersey. ... Empire Builder is a train route operated by Amtrak in the Midwestern and Northwestern United States. ... Completed in 1891, the mansion was the largest and most expensive home in Minnesota. ... State capitol building in Saint Paul Saint Paul is the capital and second-largest city of the state of Minnesota in the United States of America. ... The USS Arizona Memorial. ...

In 1887, the Great Northern's first company headquarters building was constructed in St. Paul. It was designed by James Brodie, who also built the Hill's house on Summit Avenue. The 1887 building was converted between 2000 and 2004 to a 53 unit condo in the Historic Lowertown District of St. Paul.[3] Always the innovator, Hill had seen the devastation done to downtown Chicago by the great fire of 1871. As a result, one feature Hill integrated into the construction of the 1887 company headquarters (the Great Northern General Office Building) was barrel vaulted ceilings constructed of brick and railroad steel rails that held up a layer of sand several inches deep. The theory was that if a fire broke out and the ceiling caved in, the sand would drop and retard or suppress the fire. James Brodie (born: - died: ) was a territorial level politician from Northwest Territories, Canada. ... Artists rendering of the fire, by John R Chapin, originally printed in Harpers Weekly; the view faces northeast across the Randolph Street Bridge. ...

Hill was intimately involved in the planning and construction (1914-1916) of a new company headquarters in St. Paul (to be known as the Great Northern Office Building), which was to house the corporate staffs of the Great Northern, the Northern Pacific and Hill's banking enterprises. The 14-story building cost $14 million to construct and was the tallest building in the Twin Cities until the Foshay Tower was completed in 1929. Minneapolis-Saint Paul is the most populous urban area in the state of Minnesota, United States, and is composed of 188 cities and townships. ... Elevator doors The Foshay Tower is a skyscraper in Minneapolis, Minnesota. ...

Hill's heirs established the James J. Hill Reference Library in St. Paul (see newspaper article), which is considered by the United States Small Business Administration the premier source for publicly accessible practical business information in the United States, and many SBA programs rely on the Hill Library's HillSearch service (http://www.hillsearch.org) to provide business information resources to small businesses nationwide. The Hill Library has developed numerous online programs and now serves millions of small business owners worldwide (http://www.jjhill.org/research). Some of the Hill Library's online programs include: James J. Hill, The Empire Builders, civic legacy is the James J. Hill Reference Library in downtown Saint Paul, Minnesota. ... The United States Small Business Administration (often SBA) is a United States government agency that provides resources to American small businesses and entrepreneurs. ...

Hill is considered to have inspired (in broad outline, though not in specific details) the character Nathaniel Taggart in Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. Ayn Rand (IPA: , February 2 [O.S. January 20] 1905 – March 6, 1982), born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum (Russian: ), was a Russian-born American novelist and philosopher. ... For the film, see Atlas Shrugged (film). ...

Notes

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Image File history File links Question_book-3. ...

References

• Robert Sobel The Entrepreneurs: Explorations Within the American Business Tradition (Weybright & Talley 1974), chapter 4, James J. Hill: The Business of Empire ISBN 0-679-40064-8
• Martin, Albro. James J. Hill and the Opening of the Northwest. New York: Oxford University Press, 1976. ISBN 0-19-502070-7.
• Burton W. Folsom, Jr., The Myth of the Robber Barons, Young America.
• The American Nation: A History of the United States, John A. Garraty, pp. 469, 481, 587.
• A People's History of the United States, Howard Zinn, p. 343.
• http://voteview.uh.edu/jjhill.htm, Keith T. Poole
• The World Book Encyclopedia
• Encyclopedia Encarta
• James J. Hill House, Minnesota Historical Society. URL accessed on 2006-04-21.
• Malone, Michael P., James J. Hill: Empire Builder of the Northwest Norman, OK.: University of Oklahoma Press, 1996. ISBN 0-8061-2793-7

Robert Sobel in a promotional photo for his publisher. ... Year 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. ... o_o ... Bizzel Library, University of Oklahoma Norman is a major city located in Cleveland County, Oklahoma and is part of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area. ... The University of Oklahoma Press is a university press that is part of the University of Oklahoma. ... The International Standard Book Number, or ISBN (sometimes pronounced is-ben), is a unique[1] identifier for books, intended to be used commercially. ...

External links

• Obituary, New York Times, May 30, 1916
• James J. Hill Washington State History
• James J. Hill Reference Library
• James J. Hill and the Building of His Railroad Empire
• The Destruction of a Wealth and Jobs Creator by Parasitical-Elites A criticism of government intervention in the business of Hill
• Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
• James J. Hill Scrapbook, 1916 Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.
• Webvideo:James J. Hill and the Building of the Stone Arch Bridge
• The Truth About the "Robber Barons" A discussion of Hill's building of the transcontinental railroad by Thomas DiLorenzo