American businessman and philanthropist (born 1821)

William Henry Vanderbilt

William Henry Vanderbilt was an American businessman and railroad magnate. Known as "Billy", he was the eldest son of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, an heir to his fortune and a prominent member of the Vanderbilt family. Vanderbilt became the richest American after he took over his father's fortune in 1877 until his own death in 1885, passing on a substantial part of the fortune to his wife and children, particularly to his sons Cornelius II and William. He inherited nearly $100 million from his father.

Born

1821

May 8

Died

1885

Era

1820s

Country

—

About

William, in brief

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Life timeline

Key dates

1821 Born
1885 Died

Also on May 8

What else happened on this day, through history

-453 Spring and Autumn period: The house of Zhao defeats the house of Zhi, ending the Battle of Jinyang, a military conflict between the elite families of the State of Jin.
413 Emperor Honorius signs an edict providing tax relief for the Italian provinces Tuscia, Campania, Picenum, Samnium, Apulia, Lucania and Calabria, which were plundered by the Visigoths.
589 Reccared I opens the Third Council of Toledo, marking the entry of Visigothic Spain into the Catholic Church.
1360 The Hundred Years War: the Treaty of Brétigny is drafted between King Edward III of England and King John II of France (the Good).

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Same-day contemporaries

Also born on May 8

Harry S. Truman 1884–1972 American colonel and politician, 33rd President of the United States (born 1884) Barbara Howard 1920–2017 Canadian sprinter and educator (born 1920) Bill Cowher 1957– American football player, coach, and analyst David Attenborough 1926– English environmentalist and television host David Keith 1954– American actor and director Fernandel 1903– French actor and singer (died 1971) Franco Baresi 1960– Italian footballer and coach Friedrich Hayek 1899–1992 Austrian-German economist, philosopher, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1899) Gamini Lokuge 1943– Sri Lankan politician (died 2025)

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Same-year contemporaries

Also born in 1821

Charles Tupper 1821–1915 Canadian physician and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Canada (died 1915) Elizabeth Blackwell 1821–1910 American physician and educator (died 1910) Fyodor Dostoevsky 1821– Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist, and philosopher (died 1881) James Springer White 1821–1881 American religious leader, co-founded the Seventh-day Adventist Church (died 1881) Nikolay Nekrasov 1821–1878 Russian poet and critic (died 1877) William Jervois 1821–1897 English engineer and diplomat, 10th Governor of South Australia (born 1821)

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