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Frederick Billings: A Life
Frederick Billings was the first lawyer to hang his shingle in San Francisco, the man who named the city of Berkeley, and an instrumental figure in founding the University of California. An early conservationist and advocate of national parks, Billings was also president of the Northern Pacific railroad. This riveting biography captures not only Billings's dynamic life, but also the spirit and excitement of California during the gold rush era.
410 pages, Paperback
First published October 24, 1991
About the author
Robin W. Winks
114 books11 followersRobin W. Winks was an American academic, historian, diplomat, writer on the subject of fiction, especially detective novels, and advocate for the National Parks.
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August 30, 2023
Robin Winks has produced a thoroughly documented and well-written biography of Fredrick Billings, an extraordinary man, and a giant of nineteenth century American commerce. His “Frederick Billings: A Life” provides both a vivid picture of early San Francisco, and a capable overview of the colossal projects undertaken by railroad entrepreneurs during the Gilded Age.
Born in Vermont in 1823, Billings was one of the early "Forty-Niners." The young lawyer crossed the isthmus of Panama en route to California, lost his sister, Laura, to yellow fever on the harrowing journey and arrived in newly flush Alta California. Billings worked with such consequential men as Henry Halleck, William T. Sherman, and John C. Fremont prior to the advent of the Civil War, becoming the first person to practice law in California, and the state's first Attorney General.
After the conclusion of hostilities, Billings remade himself as a railroad entrepreneur. He began financing the. Northern Pacific Railroad, eventually assuming its presidency, and then losing it in one of Wall Street's first hostile take-overs. A conservationist who worked to preserve Yosemite, Billings spent his later years in his native Vermont, and became a voice for reforestation, in addition to operating a model estate.
Winks’ book will be of great interest to students of the era; however, many readers will find this study to be overly prolix.
Born in Vermont in 1823, Billings was one of the early "Forty-Niners." The young lawyer crossed the isthmus of Panama en route to California, lost his sister, Laura, to yellow fever on the harrowing journey and arrived in newly flush Alta California. Billings worked with such consequential men as Henry Halleck, William T. Sherman, and John C. Fremont prior to the advent of the Civil War, becoming the first person to practice law in California, and the state's first Attorney General.
After the conclusion of hostilities, Billings remade himself as a railroad entrepreneur. He began financing the. Northern Pacific Railroad, eventually assuming its presidency, and then losing it in one of Wall Street's first hostile take-overs. A conservationist who worked to preserve Yosemite, Billings spent his later years in his native Vermont, and became a voice for reforestation, in addition to operating a model estate.
Winks’ book will be of great interest to students of the era; however, many readers will find this study to be overly prolix.
Displaying 1 of 1 review