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society January 25, 2026

E.H. Harriman: The Railroad Titan Who Crashed Wall Street and Built an Empire

Born to a clergyman in 1848, Edward Henry Harriman left school at fourteen, conquered Wall Street, and built a railroad empire stretching from the Missouri River to the Pacific. His war with J.P. Morgan over the Northern Pacific Railroad triggered America's first stock market panic and reshaped modern finance.