Nigella Lawson
English food writer and television cook (born 1960)
Henry Villard
American journalist and financier (1835-1900)
Henry Villardwas an American journalist and financier who was an influential leader and the sixth president of the Northern Pacific Railwaywhich completed its trans-continental route during his tenure in 1883.
Born and raised by Ferdinand Heinrich Gustav Hilgard in the historic ancient Roman Empire border fortification, then Medieval / Middle Ages town of Speyer, along the Rhine River in the Rhenish Palatinate of the Kingdom of Bavaria.
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About the Henry Villard
Henry Villardwas an American journalist and financier who was an influential leader and the sixth president of the Northern Pacific Railwaywhich completed its trans-continental route during his tenure in 1883.
Born and raised by Ferdinand Heinrich Gustav Hilgard in the historic ancient Roman Empire border fortification, then Medieval / Middle Ages town of Speyer, along the Rhine River in the Rhenish Palatinate of the Kingdom of Bavaria. Villard clashed with his more conservative father over politics and was sent to a semi-military academy across the border in northeastern France. As a teenager, he emigrated to the United States in the 1850s without his parents’ knowledge. He changed his name to Henry Villard, the name of a French classmate, to avoid being sent back to Europe, and began making his way west, briefly studying law as he developed a career in journalism. He supported famed Western explorerand military officer in the United States Army of John C. Fremontfrom Springfield, Illinois of Abraham Lincolnto also cover the brief Austro-Prussian War in 1866, between two German-speaking totalitarian / authoritarian regimes fighting for political supremacy in Central Europe. It was also significant because with the quick decisive Prussian military victory over the neighboring Austrian Empire enabled the rising Kingdom of Prussia under dynamic Chancellor Otto von Bismarckand the daughter of famed newspaper publisher and slavery abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison (1805-1879), and returned to the U.S., only to go back to Germany several years later for his health in 1870.
While in Germany, Villard became involved in investments in American railroads, and returned to the U.S. in 1874 to oversee German investments in the Oregon and California Railroad. He visited Oregon that summer, and being impressed with the region’s natural resources, began acquiring various transportation interests in the region. During the ensuing decade he acquired several rail and steamship companies, and pursued a rail line from Portland to the Pacific Ocean; he was successful, but the line cost more than anticipated, causing financial turmoil. Villard returned to Europe, helping German investors acquire stakes in the transportation network, and returned to New York in 1886.
Also in the 1880s, Villard acquired the New York Evening Post and The Nation, and established the predecessor of General Electric. He was the first benefactor of the University of Oregon, and contributed to other universities, churches, hospitals, and orphanages. He died of a stroke at his country home in New York in 1900.
11 Quotes by Henry Villard
- 1.
The curious defiled past him, after squeezing the Presidential fingers into the room, and settled either on the sofa or chairs or remained standing for protracted observations.
Henry VillardAmerican journalist and financier (1835-1900)
- 2.
I therefore shared fully the intense chagrin of the New York and other State delegations when, on the third ballot, Abraham Lincoln received a larger vote than Seward.
Henry VillardAmerican journalist and financier (1835-1900)
- 3.
Towards four o’clock, the rebels felt strong enough to take the offensive. A brigade with a battery under Earle managed to strike the Federal right on the flank and rear and throw it into utter confusion, which spread rapidly along the whole front. Now came the disastrous end.
Henry VillardAmerican journalist and financier (1835-1900)
- 4.
He surprised me by his familiarity with details of movements and battles which I did not suppose had come to his knowledge. As he kept me talking for over half an hour, I flattered myself that what I had to say interested him.
Henry VillardAmerican journalist and financier (1835-1900)
- 5.
No one felt it more than the President. I saw him repeatedly, and he fairly groaned at the inexplicable delay in the advent of help from the loyal States.
Henry VillardAmerican journalist and financier (1835-1900)
- 6.
General Sherman looked upon journalists as a nuisance and a danger at headquarters and in the field, and acted toward them accordingly, then as throughout his great war career.
Henry VillardAmerican journalist and financier (1835-1900)
- 7.
He appeared every night, like myself, at about nine o’clock, in the office of Mr. Tyler, to learn the news brought in the night Associated Press report. He knew me from the Bull Run campaign as a correspondent of the press.
Henry VillardAmerican journalist and financier (1835-1900)
- 8.
I had not got over the prejudice against Lincoln with which my personal contact with him in 1858 imbued me.
Henry VillardAmerican journalist and financier (1835-1900)
- 9.
Senator Douglas was very small, not over four and a half feet height, and there was a noticeable disproportion between the long trunk of his body and his short legs. His chest was broad and indicated great strength of lungs.
Henry VillardAmerican journalist and financier (1835-1900)
- 10.
Without any formal orders to retreat, what was left of the several organizations yielded to a general impulse to abandon the field. Officers and men became controlled by the one thought of getting as far as possible from the enemy.
Henry VillardAmerican journalist and financier (1835-1900)
- 11.
There was nothing in all Douglas’s powerful effort that appealed to the higher instincts of human nature, while Lincoln always touched sympathetic cords. Lincoln’s speech excited and sustained the enthusiasm of his audience to the end.
Henry VillardAmerican journalist and financier (1835-1900)