Henry Kirke Porter (November 24, 1840 – April 10, 1921) was an American businessman and

Representative Representative may refer to: Politics *Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people *House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities *Legislator, someon ...

of the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

for

Pennsylvania's 31st congressional district Pennsylvania's 31st congressional district was one of Pennsylvania's districts of the United States House of Representatives. It existed from 1903 to 1953. Geography Created in 1903, the district served portions of the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsyl ...

Biography

Porter was born 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 ...

. In 1860, he graduated from

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

. He also helped found the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

that year. He attended the

Newton Theological Seminary Newton Theological Seminary or Newton Theological School may refer to: * Newton Theological Institution (1825–1965) * Andover Newton Theological School (1965–2017) * Andover Newton Seminary at Yale Divinity School Andover Newton Seminary at Y ...

Newton Center, Massachusetts Newton Centre is one of the thirteen villages within the city of Newton in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The main commercial center of Newton Centre is a triangular area surrounding the intersections of Beacon Street, Centre Str ...

. In 1862, he enlisted in the 45th Regiment,

Massachusetts Volunteer Militia The Massachusetts State Defense Force (MSDF) is the currently inactive state defense force of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It was inactivated in 2016 by Governor Charlie Baker. The purpose of the Massachusetts State Defense Force, when acti ...

, and was mustered out in July 1863. He continued his theological training at the

Rochester Theological Seminary Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School is a Baptist seminary in Rochester, New York It is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. History 1820s-1960: Early history Four Baptist institutions merged over the course of the 19th and 20t ...

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

, but in 1866 he was given a gift of $20,000 by his father, which changed the course of his life. He invested that money with a partner, John Y. Smith, and formed the Smith & Porter Machine works. They opened a small shop in

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 ...

, Pennsylvania, which grew to become

H.K. Porter, Inc. H.K. Porter, Inc. (Porter) manufactured light-duty railroad locomotives in the US, starting in 1866. The company became the largest producer of industrial locomotives, and built almost eight thousand of them. The last locomotive was built in ...

Porter served as president of the company. He was President of the Pittsburgh YMCA from 1868 to 1887, and was President of the Western Pennsylvania Institute for the Blind in 1904. He served in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

in the

58th United States Congress The 58th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC, from March 4, 1903, to ...

from 1903 to 1905 as an Independent Republican. He was a member of the Jekyll Island Club (aka The millionaires Club) on Jekyll Island, Georgia. He continued as President of H.K. Porter, Inc. until his death at age 80 in Washington, D.C., and was buried in the Allegheny Cemetery in Pittsburgh.

References

The Political Graveyard
Retrieved on 2008-02-14

External links

* 1840 births 1921 deaths Members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania American manufacturing businesspeople Union Army soldiers Politicians from Pittsburgh Brown University alumni American people in rail transportation Politicians from Concord, New Hampshire Independent Republican members of the United States House of Representatives Pennsylvania Republicans Pennsylvania Independents Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School alumni Burials at Allegheny Cemetery {{AmericanCivilWar-bio-stub