John George Brill (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

: ''Johann Georg Brill'') (

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, May 31, 1817 – September 22, 1888) was a co-founder of

J. G. Brill and Company The J.G. Brill Company manufactured streetcars,Young, Andrew D. (1997). ''Veteran & Vintage Transit'', p. 101. St. Louis: Archway Publishing. interurban coaches, motor buses, trolleybuses and railroad cars in the United States for almos ...

, which, at its height, was the largest manufacturer of

streetcar A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

s and

interurban The Interurban (or radial railway in Europe and Canada) is a type of electric railway, with streetcar-like electric self-propelled rail cars which run within and between cities or towns. They were very prevalent in North America between 1900 a ...

cars in the United States. In 1847, at the age of 30, he emigrated with his wife and two children from Germany to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. For twenty years, he worked for Murphy and Allison. In 1868, with his son George Martin Brill, he founded the firm J. G. Brill & Son, which, in 1887, became J. G. Brill and Company.

Death and interment

Brill died from heart failure at the age of 71 in

Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania Philadelphia County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the most populous county in Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, Philadelphia County had a population of 1,603,797. The county is the second smallest county in Pennsy ...

on September 22, 1888, and was buried on September 25 at the

West Laurel Hill Cemetery West Laurel Hill Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1869, is 200 acres in size and contains the burials of many notable people. It is affiliated with Laurel Hill Cemetery in neighboring Ph ...

in Bala Cynwyd, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania."Return of a Death in the City of Philadelphia: Physicians Certificate and Undertaker's Certificate in Relation to the Deceased." Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

References

External links

J. G. Brill and the Brill Brothers
– article in the Powelton History Blog {{DEFAULTSORT:Brill, John George 1817 births 1888 deaths Engineers from Kassel People from the Electorate of Hesse Businesspeople from Philadelphia German railway mechanical engineers American railroad mechanical engineers American railway entrepreneurs Engineers from Pennsylvania 19th-century American businesspeople Burials at West Laurel Hill Cemetery