Edward Henry Harriman

Edward Henry Harriman (1848-1909), executive of the Union Pacific Railroad, was one of the dominant American figures in that industry in the late 19th century.

Born on Feb. 20, 1848, in Hempstead, N.Y., E. H. Harriman was raised in a relatively affluent environment. Although his father was a clergyman, the rest of the family engaged successfully in business. At the age of 14 Harriman became an office boy in a Wall Street firm. When he turned 21 he borrowed $3, 000 from an uncle and purchased a seat on the stock exchange.

Harriman's first venture in transportation was the modest purchase of a Hudson River boat running between New York City and Newburgh. Mary Williamson, whom he married in 1879, was the daughter of the president of an upstate New York railroad. From this time Harriman began rebuilding bankrupt railroads in that region.

In 1883 Stuyvesant Fish, vice president of the Illinois Central Railroad, secured a seat for Harriman on the board of directors, and when Fish moved to the presidency in 1887, Harriman became vice president. Through Harriman's brilliant financial acumen the Illinois Central survived the devastating depression of the 1890s.

During this period Harriman was also eyeing the Union Pacific Railroad. When the line went into receivership in 1893, Harriman joined the reorganization syndicate. Four years later he gained a seat on the board of directors. He soon was made chairman of the executive committee, becoming, in effect, the voice of the Union Pacific. Harriman moved first to restore the physical condition of the road. He also gained control of two Oregon railroads and thus ensured the Union Pacific an entrance to Portland. He then turned his attention to California. A golden opportunity arose in 1900, when the Southern Pacific Railroad holdings were put up for sale. Harriman purchased enough securities to control the vast transportation network operating along the entire Pacific Coast and east to New Orleans.

Meanwhile, Harriman wanted to extend the eastern terminus of the Union Pacific, then at Omaha, to Chicago. He attempted to gain control of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad but ran headlong into James J. Hill of the Great Northern Railway. Harriman, backed by the Kuhn-Loeb financial group, and Hill, supported by financier J. P. Morgan, battled for stock control. The antagonists eventually agreed to create a holding company, the Northern Securities Company, which was to control a vast majority of the railroads west of the Mississippi River.

To their surprise, U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt instigated an antitrust suit against Northern Securities. In 1904 the Supreme Court ordered the company dissolved. Harriman suffered another setback when, in 1906-1907, the Interstate Commerce Commission's investigation revealed his part in a group of "robber barons" who had set about to financially destroy the Chicago and Alton Railroad.

Harriman also dabbled in steamships, banks, and insurance companies. In 1899 he organized and accompanied a research expedition to Alaska. He was also active in New York boys' club work. In 1885 he began buying acreage in Orange County, N.Y., for the purpose of preserving forest lands; some 20, 000 acres plus funds to purchase additional tracts were given to the state to create Harriman Park, now over 45, 000 acres in extent.

Harriman was the father of six children, the most famous of whom was W. Averell Harriman.

Further Reading

The most extensive treatment of Harriman is George Kennan, E. H. Harriman: A Biography (2 vols., 1922). The only other study is the journalistic account by Hamilton J. Eckenrode and Pocahontas Wight Edmunds, E. H. Harriman: The Little Giant of Wall Street (1933).

Additional Sources

Eckenrode, H. J. (Hamilton James), E.H. Harriman: the little giant of Wall Street, New York: Arno Press, 1981.

Kennan, George, E. H. Harriman, a biography, New York: Arno Press, 1981, 1922.

Memoirs of three railroad pioneers, New York: Arno Press, 1981. □

Harriman, E.H. (1848–1909), railroad financier.Born in Hempstead, New York, Edward Henry Harriman began his business career as a Wall Street stockbroker, but soon became a railroad financier by acquiring the all‐important Illinois Central Railroad. His biggest coup was gaining control of the Southern Pacific and Union Pacific railroads. Joining with J.P. Morgan, James J. Hill, and others, he created the Northern Securities Company, a holding company that integrated the ownership of the Union Pacific, Northern Pacific, Great Northern, and Burlington railroads. In the Northern Securities Case of 1904, the Supreme Court found this company an illegal combination in restraint of interstate commerce and ordered it dissolved. Harriman also earned notoriety following accusations of stock manipulation. Having purchased the Chicago and Alton Railroad in 1899, he issued stock that increased his personal profit with no benefit to the line. A classic example of the practice of “watering” stock, this action was investigated by the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) in 1906–1907. Some have seen the investigation as politically motivated, arising from personal animosity between Harriman and President Theodore Roosevelt, but the ICC did find Harriman's corporate empire and business practices “contrary to public policy.”

Harriman also engaged in philanthropy, funding the Tompkins Square Boys Club in New York City and a scientific expedition to Alaska (Harriman Fjord in Prince William Sound is named for him), and donating forest land to New York State that became Harriman State Park. It is, however, as the quintessential Gilded Age “robber baron” that he is remembered by history.
See also Antitrust Legislation; Economic Regulation; Interstate Commerce Act; Progressive Era; Railroads.

Bibliography

William Z. Ripley , Railroads, Finance and Organization, 1920.
Lloyd J. Mercer , E.H. Harriman: Master Railroader, 1985.

Colin J. Davis

Edward Henry Harriman 1848–1909, American railroad executive, b. Hempstead, N.Y.; father of William Averell Harriman . He became a stockbroker in New York City and soon entered the railroad field, where he attracted attention by able management of the Illinois Central RR, of which he became a director (1883) and vice president (1887). He became executive committee chairman of the Union Pacific in 1898 and repossessed for it the Oregon Short Line. By purchase of the holdings of Collis P. Huntington , he secured control not only of the Southern Pacific RR but also of the Central Pacific RR. His attempt to secure an entrance into Chicago by gaining control of the Burlington & Quincy RR was blocked by James J. Hill in a struggle famous in American financial history. In a later compromise, he joined with Hill and J. P. Morgan in organizing the Northern Securities Company, a holding company formed to prevent railroad competition. But in 1904 the trust was ordered dissolved by the U.S. Supreme Court. Harriman used the financial strength of his roads to buy widely and speculatively in railroad stocks elsewhere. He conducted the Harriman Alaskan expedition of 1899, a scientific undertaking; sponsored boys' clubs; and pledged $1 million and 10,000 acres (4,047 hectares) of forest land to New York state for park purposes. The reservation, now the 42,500-acre (17,200-hectare) Harriman State Park, is part of the Palisades Interstate Park.

Bibliography: See biographies by G. Kennan (2 vol., 1922; repr. 1969) and J. E. H. L. Mercer (1985).