Webster Wagner (October 2, 1817 – January 13, 1882) was an American inventor, manufacturer and politician from New York.

Life

Wagner was born near Palatine Bridge, New York. He developed a wagon-making business with his brother James. The business had folded by 1842, largely due to the Panic of 1837. After serving as an employee for the

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Mid ...

, Wagner invented the sleeping car and luxurious parlor car. He also perfected a system of ventilating railroad cars. His inventions were first used on the NY Central and later spread to other lines. He founded the Wagner Palace Car Company, located in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

. Several legal battles with the Pullman Company failed to put him and his partners out of business. He was married to Susan Davis, and they had five children. He was a Republican member of the New York State Assembly (Montgomery Co.) in 1871; and of the New York State Senate from 1872 until his death, sitting in the

95th 95 or 95th may refer to: * 95 (number) * one of the years 95 BC, AD 95, 1995, 2095, etc. * 95th Division (disambiguation) * 95th Regiment ** 95th Regiment of Foot (disambiguation) * 95th Squadron (disambiguation) * Atomic number 95: americium *M ...

, 96th, 97th, 98th, 99th, 100th, 101st, 102nd (all eight 15th D.), 103rd, 104th and

105th New York State Legislature The 105th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 3 to June 2, 1882, during the third year of Alonzo B. Cornell's governorship, in Albany. Background Under the pro ...

s (all three 18th D.). He was killed in a rail accident while returning from Albany to New York City when two trains of the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad collided in between the Kingsbridge and Spuyten Duyvil stations in

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

, two weeks into his sixth Senate term, on January 13, 1882. The Webster Wagner House at Palatine Bridge was added to the

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 ...

in 1973.

Notes

References

External links

Webster Palace Car CompanyAccident at Spuyten Duyvil
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at the New York State Library, accessed January 5, 2016 {{DEFAULTSORT:Wagner, Webster 1817 births 1882 deaths Republican Party New York (state) state senators Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly Politicians from Buffalo, New York American people in rail transportation American railway entrepreneurs Railway accident deaths in the United States Accidental deaths in New York (state) People from Palatine Bridge, New York 19th-century American politicians Businesspeople from Buffalo, New York 19th-century American businesspeople

Life

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Notes

References

External links