Raoul, William Greene, 1843-1913

William Greene Raoul, railroad executive, inventor, and businessman, was born 4 July 1843, in Livingston Parish, Louisiana, married Mary Wadley. 1868, and died 17 January 1913, in Atlanta, Georgia.

Raoul was a member of New Orleans' Washington Artillery during the American Civil War and was made a captain (1864) in charge of railway carconstruction. His continued connection with railroads after the war included being operator of the Southern Car Works in Independence, La. (1866-1870); superintendent of Southwestern Railroad (1876); general superintendent of the Montgomery and Eufala Railroad (1879); and roadmaster (1870), vice president (1880), and president (1883-1887) of the Central of Georgia Railway Company (Savannah, Ga.); and president of the Mexican National Railroad (1887-1904), the Atlantic and Birmingham Railway (1902-1905), and Southwestern Railroad (1901-1913). Inventor of the airbrake, he also developed the Albermarle Park in Asheville, N.C., and established a foundation for the eradication of tuberculosis in Georgia.