Cornelius Vanderbilt: Gold Character

The real history

Vanderbilt was born on May 27, 1794, at Port Richmond on Staten Island, New York. He left school young to work for his father. At 16 he borrowed $100 from his parents to buy a sailboat and started his own ferry service across New York Harbor.

In 1818 he became a steamboat captain and partner of Thomas Gibbons, on the route between New York and Philadelphia. In 1829 he struck out on his own on the Hudson River. He built a large fleet of steamships, and people called him the Commodore. During the California Gold Rush he opened a route to the West Coast through Nicaragua, which was shorter than the route through Panama.

In the 1860s he turned to railroads. He took control of the New York and Harlem Railroad in 1863, the Hudson River Railroad in 1864 and the New York Central in 1867. He then merged lines into the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad, one of the first giant corporations in American history. In 1869 he began Grand Central Depot in Manhattan, which was completed in 1871.

In 1873, at age 79, he gave $1 million to found a university in Nashville, Tennessee, now Vanderbilt University. It was his only major gift to charity. Vanderbilt died in 1877, and his estate was valued at about $100 million.

Sources

1. Cornelius Vanderbilt, 1794 to 1877, New Netherland Institute
2. History of Vanderbilt University, Vanderbilt University
3. Leaders, Innovators, and Railroad Barons: Cornelius Vanderbilt, National Iron and Steel Heritage Museum

Checked against these sources on October 2, 2026. Spot a mistake? Report an error. How we check facts.