George
Mortimer Pullman was
born in Brocton, New York, on 3rd March, 1831. He trained as a cabinet-maker
before moving to work as a contractor in Chicago.
Pullman moved to Colorado and became a store-owner before joining
with his friend, Ben Field, to design a sleeping railroad car, the
Pioneer, in 1865. Two years later he established the Pullman
Palace Car Company to build sleeping cars. He introduced dining-cars
in 1868. The company was highly successful and in 1880 he established
the town of Pullman, close to Chicago,
for his workers.
In 1894 Pullman decided to reduced the wages of his workers. When
the company refused arbitration, the American Railway Union called
a strike. The Pullman Strike started
in Chicago but eventually spread to 27
states. The attorney-general, Richard Olney,
sought an injunction under the Sherman Anti-Trust
Act. As a result, of Olney's action, Eugene
Debs, president of the American Railway Union, was arrested, tried,
convicted and imprisoned. George Mortimer Pullman died on 19th March,
1897.
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