Sage, Russell

Sage, Russell

(1816–1906) financier; born in Oneida County, N.Y. A clerk at his brother's store in Troy (1828), he attended night school, bought out his brother's store (1836), and opened a wholesale grocer's business. Active in local politics from 1845, he served in the U.S. House of Representatives (Whig, N.Y.; 1853–57) where he promoted the preservation of Mount Vernon. His interest in railroads and finance was sparked by a meeting with Jay Gould, with whom he became an ally. In 1863 he moved to New York City to pursue stocks and finance and is credited with originating "puts and calls" on the stock market (1872). He promoted the development of the Atlantic & Pacific Telegraph Company and its consolidation into Western Union, and was a prodigious money lender. His fortune at his death was estimated at $70 million.

The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography, by John S. Bowman. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995. Reproduced with permission.