Ben Holladay

Ben Holladay
Born
Benjamin Holladay

(1819-10-14)October 14, 1819
Nicholas County, Kentucky, U.S.
DiedJuly 8, 1887(1887-07-08) (aged 67)
Portland, Oregon, U.S.
OccupationEntrepreneur
Spouses
Notley Ann Calvert
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​
(m. 1839; died 1873)​
Lydia Esther Campbell
​
​
(m. 1849)​

Benjamin Holladay (October 14, 1819 – July 8, 1887)[1] 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. Doniphan 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.[citation needed] His transportation empire later included steamships and railroads in Oregon.

  1. ^ "Ben Halliday Dead". The New York Times. 9 July 1887. Retrieved 10 May 2020.