Giuseppe Telfener

Giuseppe Telfener
Born(1839-05-26)May 26, 1839
Foggia, Italy
DiedJanuary 1, 1898(1898-01-01) (aged 58)
EducationMathematics, University of Naples
Occupation(s)Businessman, politician
Map of Southern Texas showing a railroad route between Brownsville and Richmond in red
Telfener's 1881 map of the New York, Texas and Mexican Railway Company

Giuseppe Telfener or Joseph Telfener, created Count Telfener[1] (Foggia, May 26, 1839 – Torre del Greco, January 1, 1898) was an Italian businessman and politician, now better known for being one of the richest Italian entrepreneurs, administrator of the assets of the House of Savoy and worldwide railway developer.[2][3]

Born into a merchant family from Val Gardena who then moved to Foggia, he studied mathematics at the University of Naples and began working with some of the leading Italian railway engineers. He soon went to Argentina and here he distinguished himself for having snatched the contract for the construction of railways from the Anglo-American monopoly and for having built the longest railway line in Latin America of the time. Count Telfener was the president and one of the builders of the New York, Texas and Mexican Railway, now known as the Macaroni Line.

  1. ^ "Telfener, Joseph (1836–1898)", TSHA, September 6, 2020
  2. ^ An Italian short biography of Giuseppe Telfener
  3. ^ Ajmone Marsan, Giulia (2018), Giuseppe Telfener. Precursore degli imprenditori globali (in Italian), Archinto Editore, ISBN 978-88-7768-720-3