Industrialist and philanthropist, born in Westchester Landing, New York, USA. He began as a carpenter and millwright, and in association with Samuel Morse devised insulation for telegraph wires on poles. He founded several telegraph companies, including the Western Union Telegraph in 1855. In 1865, in association with Andrew Dickson White (18321918), he founded and endowed Cornell University, which opened in Ithaca, NY, in 1868.
Ezra Cornell (January 11, 1807 – December 9, 1874) was an American businessman and, with Andrew Dickson White, was the founder of Cornell University.
Birth and early life
He was born in Westchester County, New York, the son of a potter, Elijah Cornell.
Marriage and early career
After settling in at Ithaca, Ezra quickly went to work proving himself as a carpenter.
Ezra Cornell was a birthright Quaker, but was later disowned by the Society of Friends for marrying outside of the faith to a "world's woman," a Methodist by the name of Mary Ann Wood.
On February 24, 1832, Ezra Cornell wrote the following response to his expulsion from The Society of Friends due to his marriage to Mary Ann Wood:
I have always considered that choosing a companion for life was a very important affair and that my happyness or misery in this life depended on the choice…The young and growing family needed more income than could be earned as manager of Beebe's Mills.
The telegraph
Happening into the offices of the Maine Farmer in 1842, Ezra saw an acquaintance of his, one F.O.J. 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.
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.
Cornell was a Republican member of both the New York State Senate and Assembly.
Cornell University
Cornell retired from Western Union and turned his attention to philanthropy. Andrew Dickson White helped secure the new institution's status as New York's land grant university, and Cornell University was granted a charter through their efforts in 1865.
Later life
Ezra Cornell entered the railroad business, but fared poorly due to the Panic of 1873. He began construction of a palatial Ithaca mansion, Llenroc (Cornell spelled in reverse) to replace his farmhouse, Forest Home, but died before it was completed. Cornell is interred in Sage Chapel on Cornell's campus, along with Daniel Willard Fiske and Jennie McGraw.
A prolific letter writer, Ezra corresponded with a great many people and would write dozens of letters each week. Cornell University has made the approximately 30,000 letters in the Cornell Correspondence available online. Cornell was later governor of New York. The eldest lineal descendent of Cornell is granted a life seat on Cornell University's Board of Trustees, currently Ezra Cornell IV. David Lowe, graduate of Cornell University and Space Shuttle astronaut, took with him into outer space a pair of tan silk socks worn by Ezra Cornell on his wedding day in 1831. Genealogy of Ezra Cornell
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