James Breckenridge Speed
Encyclopedia
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
and an important philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
.
Although he was born in Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
and only came to Louisville as an 11-year-old, James B. Speed was always considered a Louisvillian. His parents and siblings were all born in Louisville, and his family was the famous and powerful Speed family, which had had a great impact on the city. His uncle, also James Speed
James Speed
James Speed was an American lawyer, politician and professor. In 1864, he was appointed by Abraham Lincoln to be the United States' Attorney General. He previously served in the Kentucky Legislature, and in local political office.Speed was born in Jefferson County, Kentucky, to Judge John Speed...
, was United States Attorney General
United States Attorney General
The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government...
under Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
and Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson was the 17th President of the United States . As Vice-President of the United States in 1865, he succeeded Abraham Lincoln following the latter's assassination. Johnson then presided over the initial and contentious Reconstruction era of the United States following the American...
.
James B. Speed was a financial leader who strongly influenced Louisville's development. He helped to establish Louisville's street railway system, and became the president of the Louisville Railway Company
Louisville Railway Company
The Louisville Railway was a streetcar and interurban operator in Louisville, Kentucky.It began under the name Louisville City Railway in 1859 as a horsecar operator and slowly acquired other rival companies and so renamed the company in 1880...
. He saw early how significant cement
Cement
In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. The word "cement" traces to the Romans, who used the term opus caementicium to describe masonry resembling modern concrete that was made from crushed...
would be in the growth of America, and he became the president of the Louisville Cement Company. He developed and operated large coal interests, and served as president of the Ohio Valley Telephone Company.
As a philanthropist he donated a statue of Abraham Lincoln, which stands in the State Capitol, and he helped to establish and maintain several schools. After his death, his wife, Hattie Bishop Speed
Hattie Bishop Speed
Hattie Bishop Speed was a pianist, humanist, and philanthropist who championed music and the arts in Louisville, Kentucky.Born Harriett Theresa Bishop in Louisville on February 12, 1858, Hattie attended Louisville and Boston private schools before going to Europe in 1886. Her music education...
, set up a foundation in his name which helped to found the Speed Art Museum
Speed Art Museum
The Speed Art Museum, originally known as the J.B. Speed Memorial Museum, now colloquially referred to as the Speed by locals, is the oldest, largest, and foremost museum of art in Kentucky...
and the J. B. Speed School of Engineering
J. B. Speed School of Engineering
Speed Scientific School was founded in 1924 as part of the University of Louisville in the U.S. state of Kentucky with money from the James Breckenridge Speed Foundation which was created by his children William S. Speed and Olive Speed Sackett to honor J. B. Speed.In 2004, the J.B. Speed...
of the University of Louisville
University of Louisville
The University of Louisville is a public university in Louisville, Kentucky. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of the first universities chartered west of the Allegheny Mountains. The university is mandated by the Kentucky General...
.
Speed died in 1912 in Rockland, Maine
Rockland, Maine
Rockland is a city in Knox County, Maine, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 7,297. It is the county seat of Knox County. The city is a popular tourist destination...
, where he spent his summers, and he was buried in Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville.