Pullman, George M

Pullman, George M(ortimer)

(born March 3, 1831, Brocton, N.Y., U.S.—died Oct. 19, 1897, Chicago, Ill.) U.S. industrialist. He moved to Chicago as a young man and worked as a cabinetmaker for his brother. In 1858 he remodeled two day coaches for a local railroad company into sleeping coaches; eventually he set up his own firm, and the first true Pullman sleeping car appeared in 1865. Becoming wealthy from his invention, in 1867 he founded the Pullman Palace Car Company; the next year he created the first dining car. In 1880 he built the town of Pullman (now incorporated into Chicago) for its workers; a much-discussed social experiment, the town was also the scene of the famous Pullman Strike of 1894.