Ben Holladay
Ben Holladay | |
|---|---|
| Born | Benjamin Holladay October 14, 1819 |
| Died | July 8, 1887 (aged 67) Portland, Oregon, U.S. |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur |
| Spouses | Notley Ann Calvert
(m. 1839; died 1873)Lydia Esther Campbell
(m. 1849) |
Benjamin Holladay (October 14, 1819 – July 8, 1887) was an American transportation businessman responsible for creating the Overland Stage to California during the height of the 1849 California Gold Rush. He created a stagecoach empire and is known in history as the "Stagecoach King".
A native of Kentucky, he also was hired as a private courier to General Alexander Doniphan of Missouri, who refused point-blank to carry out orders to kill the Mormons during the 1838 Mormon War in Missouri. Through Holladay's friendship with Brigham Young, Holladay established a profitable freighting contract to Salt Lake City. His transportation empire later included steamships and railroads in Oregon.