Sir Henry Worth Thornton, KBE (November 6, 1871 – March 14, 1933) was a businessman. Thornton served as general superintendent of the

Long Island Rail Road The Long Island Rail Road , often abbreviated as the LIRR, is a commuter rail system in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk Co ...

from 1911 to 1914, general manager of the

Great Eastern Railway The Great Eastern Railway (GER) was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia. The company was grouped into the London and North Eastern R ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

from 1914 to 1922, and president of the

Canadian National Railways The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I railroad, Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern United States, M ...

from 1922 to 1932.

Early life and education

Thornton as coach of the 1894 Vanderbilt Commodores team

His parents were Henry Clay Thornton and Millamenta Comegys Worth. Thornton was educated at St. Paul's School in

Concord, New Hampshire Concord () is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Hampshire and the seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2020 census the population was 43,976, making it the third largest city in New Hampshire behind Manchester and Nashua. The village of ...

,, where he met James A. McCrea, son of

James McCrea James McCrea (1848–1913) was the president of the Pennsylvania Railroad from 1907 to 1913. Biography James was born May 1, 1848 in Philadelphia, United States, in a long line of McCreas who came to Delaware and Pennsylvania near two hundred y ...

who was then president of

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

. After graduating, Thornton attended the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

, where played football and served as class president during his freshman year. Upon graduation in 1894, he coached the Vanderbilt football team to a 7–1 record.

Career

Also in 1894, Thornton began his career in the railroad business, entering as a draftsman of the

based in the

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

office. He was promoted to supervisory engineer in 1899 and District Superintendent in 1901. He was appointed as general superintendent of

Cleveland, Akron and Columbus Railroad The Cleveland, Akron and Columbus Railroad (nicknamed the "Blue Grass Route of Ohio" ) was a railroad company in the U.S. state of Ohio. It connected its namesake cities and served as a vital link for later parent Pennsylvania Railroad to connect ...

, part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system in Ohio, in 1901. In 1912 he was named general superintendent of the

In 1914, Thornton was made general manager of the Great Eastern Railway Company Ltd. Thornton served during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. As a Major General, he was appointed inspector general of Allied transportation. In 1919 he became a British subject, and

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...

made him a

Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

. Thornton was also named an officer of the Order of Leopold and a Companion of the

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

of France. He received the

Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation. Examples include: *Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in action * Distinguishe ...

from the United States. In 1922 Thornton was named chairman of the board and president of the

and tasked with modernizing and amalgamating several lines. He championed passenger comfort, introducing onboard radios and establishing of a radio network along the route (a precursor to the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

) and investing in hotels in communities served by the railway. When the Conservative Party came to power in 1932, Thornton was forced to resign, denied a pension, and removed from the Board of Directors of a local bank. Disgraced, Thornton moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, where he died less than a year later from pneumonia and complications from surgery.

Honors

Thornton Park (across from former CN

Pacific Central Station Pacific Central Station is a railway station in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, which acts as the western terminus of Via Rail's cross-country '' The Canadian'' service to Toronto and the northern terminus of Amtrak's '' Cascades'' service t ...

) and Thornton Street in Vancouver and hotel (Sir Henry Thornton Village at former CN Hotel

Jasper Park Lodge The Jasper Park Lodge is a 442 room hotel situated on 700 acre site along Lac Beauvert in Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada. The hotel was established in 1921 by Canadian National Railway and is one of Canada's grand railway hotels. Hotel hi ...

) in Canada, are named after Thornton. He delivered commencement addresses at MIT and Syracuse and earned an honorary doctorate from his alma mater, the

. In 1992 he was inducted into the

Canadian Railway Hall of Fame Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

Family

Henry Worth Thornton was the son of Henry Clay Thornton, a prominent

Logansport, Indiana Logansport is a city in and the county seat of Cass County, Indiana, United States. The population was 18,366 at the 2020 census. Logansport is located in northern Indiana at the junction of the Wabash and Eel rivers, northwest of Kokomo. Hi ...

, lawyer, and Millamenta Comegys Worth. Thornton's uncles included

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

physician

William Patton Thornton Dr. William Patton Thornton (February 6, 1817 – October 10, 1883) was a physician, educator, author, and politician. Education and career Thorton graduated from Kemper's Medical College in St. Louis and Jefferson Medical College in Philadelp ...

. He was cousin to Judge William Wheeler Thornton. Thornton married Virginia D. Blair on June 20, 1901; they had two children:

James Worth Thornton James Worth Thornton (September 19, 1906 – February 6, 1983, Virginia) was an American businessman and scion of the politically and socially connected Thorntons of Indiana. Thornton was the son of Sir Henry Worth Thornton and Virginia Blair, da ...

and Anna Blair Thornton (Harrison). In 1926 they divorced. He remarried shortly thereafter to Martha Watriss.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thornton, Henry Worth 1871 births 1933 deaths 19th-century players of American football American football guards British businesspeople Canadian National Railway executives CNR Radio People from Logansport, Indiana St. Paul's School (New Hampshire) alumni Penn Quakers football players Vanderbilt Commodores football coaches Canadian Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army)