George Bangs

George Bangs
Born(1826-02-26)February 26, 1826
Milan, Ohio, US
DiedNovember 17, 1877(1877-11-17) (aged 51)
Washington, DC, US
Burial placeRosehill Cemetery, Chicago, Illinois
41°59′19.3″N 87°40′34.4″W / 41.988694°N 87.676222°W / 41.988694; -87.676222
Occupation(s)Newspaper publisher, civil servant
EmployerUS Postal Service
Known for"Fast-mail" trains
TitleGeneral Superintendent of the Railway Mail Service
Signature

George Bangs (February 26, 1826[a] – November 17, 1877) was an American businessman who began his adult life working in private ventures including printing, shoes, farming and journalism before becoming postmaster of Aurora, Illinois, in 1861. During his postal career, he worked with the Railway Mail Service (RMS). There he improved the mail sorting system on trains and was the most prominent advocate of "fast-mail" express mail trains. In 1871, as the RMS General Superintendent, he oversaw the start of the "fast-mail" service which began in 1875. The next year he resigned after Congress cut funding. He died in 1877 and was remembered with an elaborate grave marker denoting his contribution to the postal service.

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