H. Walter Webb
Encyclopedia
Henry Walter Webb was a journalist and United States Ambassador to Brazil
. Webb was a railway executive for the New York Central Railroad
under Cornelius Vanderbilt
and Chauncey Depew
.
.
Webb was head of his class in the Columbia College School of Mines (now incorporated into the School of Engineering and Applied Science). He was a member of the fraternity St. Anthony Hall
and while still an undergraduate, he participated in the Orton expedition that ascended the Amazon River almost to its source, and crossing the Andes, he exited South America by way of Peru, returning to the USA by ship. He then studied law, also at Columbia, passed the bar in 1875, and briefly practiced the profession, which he found unsatisfying.
Thereafter he soon became active in Wall Street
banking and brokerage. He drifted into the railway business almost by accident through his brother, Dr. William Seward Webb
, married to a daughter of William H. Vanderbilt, became interested in the Wagner Palace Car Company which the Vanderbilts controlled. When Webster Wagner, the company's president was suddenly crushed between two of his own cars, Dr. Webb became president of the company and invited his brother to join it.
Webb was an advocate of fast railway travel and ran what was then the fastest railway train in the world, averaging nearly 60 miles per hour over 450 miles. In 1893 he made a bold and ultimately true prediction for the next hundred years: By 1993, a traveler will be able to have his breakfast in New York City
and his evening meal in Chicago
.
Webb lived in Scarborough, New York, was Show Chairman of the Westminster Kennel Club (1880–1882), subscriber to the Blackstone Memorial
(1891), and helped dedicate a bronze statue of Christopher Columbus
in Central Park
(1894).
H. Walter Webb retired due to ill health around 1897, and died of tuberculosis or its complications June 18, 1900 at his country residence. Had he remained healthy he would likely have become president of his railroad. He was survived by his wife, Leila Howard Griswald Webb who he had married in 1884 and two sons.
In 1904, Mrs. Webb remarried to the famous society architect Ogden Codman, Jr.
who had designed a townhouse for her at 15 E. 51 St., opposite St. Patrick's Cathedral, in New York City in 1902. Mr. Codman was co-author with Edith Wharton of the highly influential and still in print book The Decoration of Houses.
United States Ambassador to Brazil
The following is a list of Ambassadors of the United States, or other chiefs of mission, to Brazil. The title given by the United States State Department to this position is currently Ambassador Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary.-See also:...
. Webb was a railway executive for the New York Central Railroad
New York Central Railroad
The New York Central Railroad , known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States...
under Cornelius Vanderbilt
Cornelius Vanderbilt
Cornelius Vanderbilt , also known by the sobriquet Commodore, was an American entrepreneur who built his wealth in shipping and railroads. He was also the patriarch of the Vanderbilt family and one of the richest Americans in history...
and Chauncey Depew
Chauncey Depew
Chauncey Mitchell Depew was an attorney for Cornelius Vanderbilt's railroad interests, president of the New York Central Railroad System, and a United States Senator from New York from 1899 to 1911.- Biography:...
.
Biography
He was born in 1856 to James Watson WebbJames Watson Webb
General James Watson Webb was a United States diplomat, newspaper publisher and a New York politician in the Whig and Republican parties.-Biography:...
.
Webb was head of his class in the Columbia College School of Mines (now incorporated into the School of Engineering and Applied Science). He was a member of the fraternity St. Anthony Hall
St. Anthony Hall
St. Anthony Hall, also known as Saint Anthony Hall and The Order of St. Anthony, is a national college literary society also known as the Fraternity of Delta Psi at colleges in the United States of America. St...
and while still an undergraduate, he participated in the Orton expedition that ascended the Amazon River almost to its source, and crossing the Andes, he exited South America by way of Peru, returning to the USA by ship. He then studied law, also at Columbia, passed the bar in 1875, and briefly practiced the profession, which he found unsatisfying.
Thereafter he soon became active in Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
banking and brokerage. He drifted into the railway business almost by accident through his brother, Dr. William Seward Webb
William Seward Webb
William Seward Webb, M.D. was a businessman, and Inspector General of the Vermont militia with the rank of Colonel. He was a founder and former President of the Sons of the American Revolution.-Biography:...
, married to a daughter of William H. Vanderbilt, became interested in the Wagner Palace Car Company which the Vanderbilts controlled. When Webster Wagner, the company's president was suddenly crushed between two of his own cars, Dr. Webb became president of the company and invited his brother to join it.
Webb was an advocate of fast railway travel and ran what was then the fastest railway train in the world, averaging nearly 60 miles per hour over 450 miles. In 1893 he made a bold and ultimately true prediction for the next hundred years: By 1993, a traveler will be able to have his breakfast in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and his evening meal in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
.
Webb lived in Scarborough, New York, was Show Chairman of the Westminster Kennel Club (1880–1882), subscriber to the Blackstone Memorial
Blackstone Memorial
The Blackstone Memorial of 1891 was a petition written by William Eugene Blackstone, a Christian Restorationist, in favor of the delivery of Palestine to the Jews. It was signed by many leading American citizens and presented to President Harrison....
(1891), and helped dedicate a bronze statue of Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
in Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
(1894).
H. Walter Webb retired due to ill health around 1897, and died of tuberculosis or its complications June 18, 1900 at his country residence. Had he remained healthy he would likely have become president of his railroad. He was survived by his wife, Leila Howard Griswald Webb who he had married in 1884 and two sons.
In 1904, Mrs. Webb remarried to the famous society architect Ogden Codman, Jr.
Ogden Codman, Jr.
Ogden Codman, Jr. was a noted American architect and interior decorator in the Beaux-Arts styles, and co-author with Edith Wharton of The Decoration of Houses , which became a standard in American interior design....
who had designed a townhouse for her at 15 E. 51 St., opposite St. Patrick's Cathedral, in New York City in 1902. Mr. Codman was co-author with Edith Wharton of the highly influential and still in print book The Decoration of Houses.