Benjamin Bates IV
Benjamin Bates | |
|---|---|
| Born | Benjamin Edward Bates July 12, 1808 Mansfield, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | January 14, 1878 (aged 69) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Burial place | Mount Auburn Cemetery Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Rail industrialist, textile tycoon and philanthropist |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Sarah Chapman Gilbert |
| Children | Josephine, Benjamin Edward V, Sarah Hersher, Lillian Gilbert, Arthur Hobart Herscher |
| Parent(s) | Hannah Copeland and Elkanah Bates |
| Relatives | Bates family |
Benjamin Edward Bates IV (/beɪtɛs/; July 12, 1808 – January 14, 1878) was an American rail industrialist, textile tycoon and philanthropist. He was the wealthiest person in Maine from 1850 to 1878.
Bates was born to a large family in Mansfield, Massachusetts. He moved to Bristol, Maine, for a working residency at B. T. Loring Company before he created the Davis, Bates & Turner, a craft goods and service firm in the early 1830s. After entering the textile business, he created the Bates Manufacturing Company in Lewiston, Maine, building its first mill in 1850. His company quickly became the largest employer per capita in Maine and the largest in Lewiston for three decades. As the dominant force in the already-extant Lewiston Water Power Company, he also oversaw the creation of the first canal in the city.
At the start of the American Civil War, Bates correctly anticipated that the talk of secession in the Southern States would lead to a shortage of cotton. By buying up a large amount of cotton prior to the Battle of Fort Sumter, he was able to outproduce his business rivals, which led to the rapid growth of the Bates Manufacturing Company and the city of Lewiston.