USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Shipping and railroad tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794-1877) was a self-made multi-millionaire who became one of the wealthiest Americans of the 19th century. As a boy, he worked with his father, who operated a boat that ferried cargo between Staten Island, New York, where they lived, and Manhattan.

Detailed explanation-2: -By the 1850s he had turned his attention to railroads, buying up so much stock in the New York and Harlem Railroad that by 1863 he owned the line. He later acquired the Hudson River Railroad and the New York Central Railroad and consolidated them in 1869.

Detailed explanation-3: -Cornelius Vanderbilt (May 27, 1794 – January 4, 1877), nicknamed “the Commodore", was an American business magnate who built his wealth in railroads and shipping.

Detailed explanation-4: -Vanderbilt, with the advice of his son William Henry, began to scale back his nautical businesses. During the Civil War, he donated his largest steamship, the Vanderbilt, to the Union Navy. By 1864, with $30 million, the Commodore had retired from the high seas and began to deal in the railways.

Detailed explanation-5: -Vanderbilt recognized its value in transporting goods in and out of the city, and it was soon a very profitable line. Vanderbilt took control of the Hudson River Railroad in 1864, the New York Central Railroad in 1867, and the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway in 1869 after his success with the Harlem.