Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
Parallel form(s) of name
Hill, J.J.
Hill, J. J.
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
History
James Jerome Hill, 1838-1916, was born near Guelph, Ontario. In 1856 he moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, and for the next decade worked for several steamboat companies. In 1866 he founded his own transportation and warehouse company, called James J. Hill & Co. In 1867 he married Mary Theresa Mehegan, 1846-1921. He subsequently founded other businesses, and soon became heavily involved in railways, acquiring the St. Paul & Pacific Railroad (later renamed the St. Paul, Minnesota & Manitoba Railway) in 1877-1879, in conjunction with Donald Smith, George Stephen, and others. From 1880 to 1883 he was involved in the construction and operation of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). In 1890 he became president of the Great Northern Railway Company. In 1907 he gave up the presidency to become chairman of the board, a position from which he resigned in 1912. For further information see David G. Burley's entry, "James Jerome Hill", in the Dictionary of Canadian Biography, volume 14.