Strong, William Barstow

Strong, William Barstow (1837–1914) railroad official; born in Brownington, Vt. An 1855 graduate of Bell's Business College in Chicago, he began working for the Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad as a station agent. Between 1867 and 1877 he worked for several railroads with increasing responsibility until he became vice-president of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad, in charge of its expansion program. During his tenure (president 1881–89), he turned the railroad into one of the largest in the country at just under 7,000 miles. At his retirement he took up farming.