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Samuel Spencer is well-known in the railroad industry as the Father of the Southern Railway.
He was the first ever President of the company, which was a merger of the Richmond and Danville, and the East Tennessee, Virginia, and Georgia Railroads.
Within his twelve-year term, the annual profit of the Southern Railway company tripled from around $17 million to as much as $54 million.
The mileage of the trains doubled and the number of satisfied passengers served soar up to nearly twelve million a year.
The success that Samuel Spencer achieved with Southern Railway, as well as with his subsequent endeavors, made him both rich and famous. In fact, a town was named after him in honor of his achievements.
Four years after his tragic death in November of 1906, a bronze statue was dedicated in his memory. It was commissioned and paid for by the thirty thousand loyal employees who had served under his leadership.
Samuel Spencer's Beginnings
Samuel Spencer was born and raised inside a family-owned cotton plantation in Columbus, Georgia. At the age of ten, he was left to his father's care after his mother passed away. During the Civil War, he joined the Confederate Army and served until the war ended. Samuel Spencer then moved on to study at the University of Virginia and at the University of Georgia.
Samuel Spencer made his first step in the railroad industry as a Surveyor. His experience taught him a lot of things about railroad management. With a degree in Civil Engineering, Samuel Spencer worked very hard to climb up the industry's ladder. He worked as a superintendent in Long Island before moving on to head the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1887.
He eventually became a railroad expert for the Drexel, Morgan and Company who eventually bought the then bankrupt R&D Railroad. Since it was Spencer's field of expertise, the owner was confident enough to make him the first President of the Southern Railway merger.
The Samuel Spencer Quick Bio
Full name: Samuel Spencer
Birth date: 1847
Birth place: Columbus, Georgia
Company: Southern Railway
Industry: Railroad
Key success traits: ingenuous creator, excellent manager, passionate innovator
Additional:
Samuel Spencer died in Virginia in November 26, 1906. He and several of his friends were apparently sleeping inside a car when a train hit them. The train was apparently on the wrong track when it hit the car. Samuel Spencer died at the age of 59.
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