Ezra Cornell

Ezra Cornell (January 11, 1807 – December 9, 1874) was an American businessman and, with Andrew Dickson White, is founder of Cornell University, . He was born in Westchester County, New York, the son of a potter, Elijah Cornell. He was a first cousin, four times removed of Benjamin Franklin on his maternal grandmother's side. Having travelled extensively as a carpenter in New York State, Ezra, upon first setting eyes on Cayuga Lake and Ithaca, decided Ithaca would be his future home.

The telegraph

Happening into the offices of the Maine Farmer in 1842, Ezra saw an acquaintance of his, one F.O.J. Smith, bent over some plans for a "scraper" as Smith called it. Smith had purchased a share of the telegraph patent held by Samuel F.B. Morse, and was attempting to devise a way of burying the telegraph lines in the ground in lead pipe. Ezra's knowledge of plows was put to the test and Ezra devised a special kind of plow that would dig a 2 1/2 foot ditch, lay the pipe and telegraph wire in the ditch and cover it back up as it went. Later it was found that condensation in the pipes and poor insulation of the wires impeded the electrical current on the wires and so hanging the wire from telegraph poles became the accepted method.

Related Topics:
1842 - Patent - Samuel F.B. Morse - Lead - Insulation - Electrical current

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Ezra made his fortune in the telegraph business as an associate of Samuel Morse, having gained his trust by constructing and stringing the telegraph poles between Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland, as the first ever telegraph line of substance in the U.S. After joining with Morse, Cornell supervised the erection of many telegraph lines, earning a substantial fortune as a founder of the Western Union company.

Related Topics:
Telegraph - Samuel Morse - Washington, D.C. - Baltimore, Maryland - Western Union

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Cornell was a Republican member of both the New York State Senate and Assembly.

Related Topics:
Republican - New York State Senate and Assembly

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