Franklin B. Gowen, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

Franklin B. Gowen

President of Philadelphia and Reading Railroad

Date of Birth: 09-Feb-1836

Place of Birth: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Date of Death: 13-Dec-1889

Profession: businessperson

Nationality: United States

Zodiac Sign: Aquarius

Franklin Benjamin Gowen (February 9, 1836 – December 13, 1889) served as president of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad (commonly referred to as the Reading Railroad) in the 1870s/80s.
He is identified with the undercover infiltration and subsequent court prosecutions of Molly Maguires, mine workers, saloonkeepers and low-level local political figures arraigned and tried for multiple acts of violence, including murders and attempted murders of coal mine operators, foremen and workers, and peace officers.Other aspects of Gowen's presidency that merit consideration include: Despite the Reading Railroad being legally prohibited by its corporate charter from owning or operating coal mines, under Gowen's leadership the railroad obtained 142 square miles (368 km²) of coal lands and illegally ran numerous mining operations upon them, but the state of Pennsylvania deemed the prohibition to be unenforceable. He was a central figure in negotiating both the first written labor agreement between mine workers and operators in the U.S., and the first industry-wide price-fixing agreement in the U.S. He played a signal role in the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, including the Reading Railroad Massacre. Under his leadership the Reading Railroad twice fell into bankruptcy.
In the wake of the second one, Gowen was finally blocked from further direct involvement in the railroad's affairs when a syndicate led by J.P.
Morgan obtained control of the corporation.