John William Mackay | |
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| Born | November 28, 1831 Dublin, Ireland |
| Died | July 20, 1902 (aged 70) London, UK |
| Resting place | Green-Wood Cemetery |
| Occupation(s) | Shipbuilder, prospector, partner in Comstock Lode mines |
| Organization(s) | Consolidated Virginia Mining Company Bank of Nevada |
| Known for | Being one of the "Bonanza Kings" |
| Spouse | Marie Louise Hungerford (m. 1866) |
| Children | John William Mackay Jr, Clarence Hungerford Mackay |
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John William Mackay (November 28, 1831 – July 20, 1902) was an Irish-American industrialist who rose from rags to riches. Born into abject poverty and raised in the slums of New York City, Mackay became one of the four Bonanza Kings, a partnership which capitalized on the wealth generated by the silver mines at the Comstock Lode in Nevada, making him one of the richest Americans in his time. He also headed a telegraph business that laid transatlantic cables, and he helped finance the New York, Texas and Mexican Railway Company. His granddaughter Ellin Berlin was the wife of Irving Berlin.