Robert Pitcairn (1836 - 1909) was a Scottish-American railroad executive who headed the Pittsburgh Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad in the late 19th century. Year 1836 ( MDCCCXXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap Year 1909 ( MCMIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Scottish Americans or Scots Americans are Citizens of the United States whose ancestry originates in Scotland. The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Railroad, founded in 1846 The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar
Pitcairn was born in Johnstone, Renfrewshire, Scotland on May 6, 1836. Johnstone ( Baile Eòin in Scottish Gaelic) is a town in Renfrewshire and located in the west- central lowlands of Scotland, three miles Renfrewshire ( Siorrachd Rinn Friù in Scottish Gaelic) is one of 32 Council areas of Scotland. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. He accompanied his parents to the United States and settled in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the His first job was as a messenger boy for the Eastern Telegraph Company where he worked alongside future steel magnate Andrew Carnegie. A business magnate, sometimes referred to as a mogul, tycoon, baron, or industrialist, is a person who has reached a prominent place in Andrew Carnegie (properly kɑrˈneɪgi but commonly /ˈkɑrnɨgi/ or /kɑrˈnɛgi/ (25 November 1835 – 11 August 1919 was a Scottish -born American Industrialist In 1853, when Carnegie left to work for the Pennsylvania Railroad, he got Pitcairn a job as a ticket agent at the Mountain House at Hollidaysburg, from there he was transferred to Altoona.
Both men worked their way up the corporate ranks rapidly. When Andrew Carnegie left the railroad to start Carnegie Steel, Pitcairn replaced Carnegie as general agent and superintendent of the Pittsburgh division of the Pennsylvania Railroad. Carnegie Steel Company was a steel producing company created by Andrew Carnegie to manage business at his Steel mills in the Pittsburgh Pennsylvania He was also a friend and financial backer of George Westinghouse. George Westinghouse Jr ( 6 October 1846 &ndash 12 March 1914) was an American Entrepreneur and Engineer
On July 26, 1856, Robert Pitcairn married Elizabeth Erb Riggs of Altoona, PA. Their children were: Agnes Laurene Pitcairn (born in 1857), Lillian Pitcairn (born in 1859), Susan Blanche Pitcairn (born in 1868) and Robert Pitcairn, Jr. (born on October 2, 1874). Their home was at the corner of Ellsworth and Amberson Avenues in Shadyside.
Robert Pitcairn was a deeply religious man; he lived his Scottish Presbyterian beliefs as a founder, long time member and leader of the Shadyside Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh's fashionable East End. Presbyterianism is a family of Christian denominations within the Reformed branch of Protestant Western Christianity Before the congregation built its current building, for many years, Pitcairn served as its choir director.
Pitcairn ordered construction of a rail yard along Turtle Creek near Pittsburgh that would become the largest rail yard in the world. The borough of Pitcairn, Pennsylvania, located adjacent to the yard, was named in his honor. A borough is an Administrative division of various countries In principle the term borough designates a self-governing Township although in practice Pitcairn is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, fifteen miles (twenty-four kilometers east of Pittsburgh.
Pitcairn was a member of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club. The South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club was a club composed of more than fifty extremely wealthy men who operated an exclusive and secretive retreat at a mountain lake near South Fork The club, founded by Henry Clay Frick and composed of wealthy Pittsburgh industrialists including Carnegie, Andrew Mellon and Philander Knox, owned the South Fork Dam which collapsed on May 31, 1889 causing the Johnstown Flood. Henry Clay Frick ( December 19 1849 &ndash December 2 1919) was an American industrialist and art patron once Andrew William Mellon ( March 24 1855 &mdash August 27 1937) was an American banker industrialist philanthropist art collector Philander Chase Knox ( May 6, 1853 &ndash October 12, 1921) was an American Lawyer and Politician who served Events 1279 BC - Rameses II (The Great (19th dynasty becomes pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. Year 1889 ( MDCCCLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The Johnstown Flood disaster (or Great Flood of 1889 as it became known locally occurred on May 31, 1889. Pitcairn was responsible for sending the first relief train to Johnstown to assist flood victims.
Robert Pitcairn died in 1909.
External links
- Pitcairn's testimony at the PRR's Johnstown Flood inquiry
- Scotland's mark on America - Scots in banking, finance, insurance and railroads
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic