Commodore: The Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt

Edward Renehan, Jr., talked about his biography Commodore: The Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt, published by Basic Books. In his book he recounts the life of Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794-1877), who built his fortune on the development of transportation systems and became synomous with American business. His wealth was historic as upon his death his fortune in today’s dollars would have surpassed that of Bill Gates. Mr. Vanderbilt’s many business interests included the creation of the first largescale integrated rail system. He was also a principal in the historic Supreme Court case Gibbons v. Ogden which established the supremacy of the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Consitution. Edward Renehan presented his book in the Carriage House of the Lyndhurst estate, a National Trust for Historic Preservation site in Tarrytown, New York, which was the home of Vanderbilt’s competitor, railroad magnate Jay Gould. Mr. Rehehan answered questions from members of the audience. close