McDowell, William Osborne, 1848-1927

William Osborne McDowell (1848-1927), a Newark, N.J. financier, business magnate and the founder of numerous patriotic and international organizations, and a nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize. His business enterprises included railroad consolidations, mining and land speculation. McDowell reorganized the Montclair Railroad (N.J.), the New York, Ontario and Western Railroad of New Jersey, and the Midland Railroad of New Jersey. His business ventures involved the Silver Chord Consolidated Mining Company, the Jett Consolidated Silver Mining Company of Nevada and the Greenwood Lake Improvement Company (N.J. and N.Y.).

McDowell was a founder of the American Institute of Christian Philosophy, the Sons of the American Revolution, the Daughters of the American Revolution, and the Order of the American Eagle. He raised money to complete the Statue of Liberty's base, lobbied for the establishment of a national university in Washington, D.C. and initiated the Columbian Liberty Bell project, which sent a replica of the Liberty Bell on tour throughout the United States.

McDowell also founded the Cuban American League of the U.S., which supported Cuban independence, and the Pan Republic Congress, which sought international cooperation. He became a leader in the universal peace movement of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, founding the Human Freedom League, and the League of Peace, a forerunner of the United Nations.

From the description of Papers, 1861-1928. (New Jersey Historical Society Library). WorldCat record id: 39333368