Rufus Ter Bush (February 22, 1840 – September 15, 1890) was an American businessman, industrialist, and

yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

sman. His notable testimony against

Standard Oil Standard Oil Company, Inc., was an American oil production, transportation, refining, and marketing company that operated from 1870 to 1911. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co-f ...

monopolistic A monopoly (from Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situation where a spec ...

practices through railroad rebates left a lasting impression, while the 1887

transatlantic Transatlantic, Trans-Atlantic or TransAtlantic may refer to: Film * Transatlantic Pictures, a film production company from 1948 to 1950 * Transatlantic Enterprises, an American production company in the late 1970s * ''Transatlantic'' (1931 film), ...

ocean race of his sailing yacht ''

Coronet A coronet is a small crown consisting of ornaments fixed on a metal ring. A coronet differs from other kinds of crowns in that a coronet never has arches, and from a tiara in that a coronet completely encircles the head, while a tiara does ...

'' and his subsequent

circumnavigation Circumnavigation is the complete navigation around an entire island, continent, or astronomical object, astronomical body (e.g. a planet or natural satellite, moon). This article focuses on the circumnavigation of Earth. The first recorded circ ...

on the same yacht evoked much interest in the national press. Bush and his son

Irving T. Bush Irving Ter Bush (July 12, 1869 – October 21, 1948) was an American businessman. He was the son of the wealthy industrialist, oil refinery owner, and yachtsman Rufus T. Bush. As founder of the Bush Terminal Company, Bush was responsible for t ...

are descended from Jan Bosch, a native of the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, who immigrated to

New Amsterdam New Amsterdam ( nl, Nieuw Amsterdam, or ) was a 17th-century Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''factory'' gave rise ...

, now New York, in 1662. There is no known connection to the English-rooted family of Presidents George H. W. and George W. Bush.

Early life

Rufus Ter Bush was born in Tompkins County,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. He grew up on his father's farm, then moved to

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

in 1851. After graduating from

Lansing Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, makin ...

High School, and spending two years at the State Agricultural College (now

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

) and graduating in 1861 from the Michigan State Normal School (now

Eastern Michigan University Eastern Michigan University (EMU, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern), is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School, the school was the fourth normal school established in the United Sta ...

) in Ypsilanti, he and his wife were schoolteachers for two years. Bush started in business by selling

sewing machine A sewing machine is a machine used to sew fabric and materials together with thread. Sewing machines were invented during the first Industrial Revolution to decrease the amount of manual sewing work performed in clothing companies. Since the inv ...

s in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. He briefly moved to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Ontario, Canada for the manufacture of machines before moving to New York City. He greatly profited by procuring the names and addresses of

ministers Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of governme ...

around the United States and direct-mailing their congregations to sell wire laundry line.

Oil and Standard Oil

After the laundry-line venture and other business enterprises, such as buying land in the mountains of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, Bush turned to

oil refining An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refined into useful products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt base, fuel oils, heating oil, kerosene, liquefie ...

. He invested the new firm of Bush & Denslow, which had an operation on 25th Street in today's Sunset Park area of the

South Brooklyn South Brooklyn is a historic term for a section of the former City of Brooklyn – now the New York City borough of Brooklyn – encompassing what are now the Boerum Hill, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Gowanus, Park Slope, Windsor Ter ...

waterfront. The refinery was destroyed by fire in 1881 and rebuilt in Bay Ridge. As co-owner of a smaller refinery, Bush publicly testified in 1879 against Standard Oil's practice of railroad rebates, stating that, "All the profit that the Standard Oil got, they out of the railroad in the form of rebates." Academic historians recently described Bush's testimony as notable for its "quotable accusations" that subsequently became a "

cliché A cliché ( or ) is an element of an artistic work, saying, or idea that has become overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, even to the point of being weird or irritating, especially when at some earlier time it was consi ...

permanently included" in histories of Standard Oil. Muckraker

Ida Tarbell Ida Minerva Tarbell (November 5, 1857January 6, 1944) was an American writer, Investigative journalism, investigative journalist, List of biographers, biographer and lecturer. She was one of the leading muckrakers of the Progressive Era of th ...

published verbatim Bush's testimony concerning Standard Oil's hold over railroad lines and the effects of these discriminatory practices in her landmark book ''

The History of the Standard Oil Company ''The History of the Standard Oil Company'' is a 1904 book by journalist Ida Tarbell. It is an exposé about the Standard Oil Company, run at the time by oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller, the richest figure in American history. Originally seriali ...

'' in 1904.Tarbell, Ida M. (1904). ''The History of Standard Oil.'' New York: McClure, Phillips & Co, p. 199-201. In spite of Bush's attacks, Bush & Denslow's Brooklyn refinery was sold to Standard Oil during the 1880s, allowing Bush to retire a very wealthy man. Standard Oil then dismantled it, having eliminated another competitor.

The yacht ''Coronet''

Bush had owned a

steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...

in the 1880s. After retiring, he had a large and luxurious sailing yacht, the 131'

, designed for him and built in Brooklyn. Bush put forth a $10,000 challenge against any other yacht for a transatlantic

race Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to: * Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species * Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...

. The ocean race between the ''Coronet'' and the yacht ''Dauntless'' in March 1887 made Bush and the victorious ''Coronet'' famous—the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

devoted its entire first page for March 28, 1887 to the story. After winning the 3,000-mile race and the $10,000 purse, Bush decided to sell the ''Coronet'' and listed the vessel in England for $30,000."The Coronet's Owner; Looking at the Contest Simply as a Business Enterprise" (March 29, 1887).

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

Rufus and his family (including his son

) then circumnavigated the globe on the ''Coronet'' in 1888, stopping in Hawaii, Japan, India, and elsewhere. The ''Coronet'' was sold before Rufus's death in 1890. After passing through a succession of owners, the ''

'' is currently being restored in Newport,

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

. It is the oldest registered yacht in the United States and is one of the last remaining grand sailing yachts from the nineteenth century. It retains its elaborate original interiors and is registered on the

U.S The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

(#04000571).

Personal life

Bush died on September 15, 1890, after accidentally taking a fatal dose of

aconite Aconite may refer to: *'' Aconitum'', a plant genus containing the monkshoods *Aconitine Aconitine is an alkaloid toxin produced by various plant species belonging to the genus ''Aconitum'' (family Ranunculaceae), known also commonly by the na ...

. It is claimed he had been suffering from insomnia for months and been taking

paregoric Paregoric, or camphorated tincture of opium, also known as ''tinctura opii camphorata'', is a traditional patent medicine known for its antidiarrheal, antitussive, and analgesic properties. According to Goodman and Gilman's 1965 edition, "Par ...

with whisky before retiring in the evening. Evidently he mistook the aconite for paregoric during the night, and was found dead in the morning. He left an estate estimated at $2,000,000 to his wife and two sons."Rufus T. Bush's Fatal Error" (Sep. 16, 1890). ''

'', p. 8 The family quickly incorporated under the name The Bush Co.

Legacy

Bush's fortune provided the necessary seed money for his son

to start the construction of

Bush Terminal Industry City (also Bush Terminal) is a historic intermodal shipping, warehousing, and manufacturing complex on the Upper New York Bay waterfront in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City. The northern portion, commonly cal ...

on the waterfront site of the former Bush & Denslow refinery in Brooklyn during the 1890s. Among other contributions, the terminal funded construction of

Bush Tower The Bush Tower (also the Bush Terminal Building, the Bush Terminal International Exhibit Building and formerly the Bush Terminal Sales Building) is a skyscraper in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, just east of Times Square ...

, a landmark skyscraper on famous 42nd St. next to

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...

in New York, as well as the building of

Bush House Bush House is a Grade II listed building at the southern end of Kingsway between Aldwych and the Strand in London. It was conceived as a major new trade centre by American industrialist Irving T. Bush, and commissioned, designed, funded, a ...

, London, an elaborate office building that housed the

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is an international broadcasting, international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government through the Foreign Secretary, Foreign Secretary's o ...

from 1941 until Jul 2012. Bush's yacht ''Coronet'' remains as one of the last remaining grand sailing yachts of the 19th century. Bush Terminal - North aerial - 1958.jpg,

in New York City was the largest industrial facility of its kind, with over 40 miles or railroad track that could handle up to 50,000 freight cars at a timeJackson, Kenneth T., ed. (1995), The Encyclopedia of New York City, New Haven: Yale University Press, p. 171 Bush Tower-04.jpg,

, a pioneering skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, designated on the `National Register of Historic Places and as a New York City Landmark Bush House, Aldwych (geograph 4238525).jpg,

, originally an international trade center, and at the time of its construction the most expensive building in the world NYT-p1-27March1887-Coronet.jpg, The

devoted the entire front page of its March 27, 1887, edition to ''Coronet's'' victory in its celebrated transatlantic race

References

External links

Bush, Rufus Ter
in ''The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography'' (1910), full text and portrait on Google Books 1840 births 1890 deaths People from Tompkins County, New York Businesspeople from Lansing, Michigan Michigan State University alumni Eastern Michigan University alumni American businesspeople in the oil industry Standard Oil Former yacht owners of New York City {{US-business-bio-1840s-stub