MacKay, John William

Mackay, John William (măk`ē), 1831–1902, American financier, b. Dublin, Ireland. He immigrated to the United States in 1840. In 1859 he joined the rush to Nevada, where silver had been discovered. He and J. G. Fair, later joined by William Shoney O'Brien and J. C. Flood, acquired control of valuable silver mines, which yielded them great fortunes. With James Gordon Bennett he founded (1883) the Commercial Cable Company and laid two submarine cables to Europe. Later (1886) he organized the Postal Telegraph Cable Company.

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MacKay, John William (1831–1902) miner, capitalist; born in Dublin, Ireland. He came to the U.S.A. as a boy and became an expert in timbering Nevada mines. He made a fortune by reworking the Comstock Lode with new equipment. After striking it rich again with the "Big Bonanza" mine, he became a banker and railroad director and broke the Jay Gould—Western Union communications monoply in 1886.