Melville E. Ingalls

Melville Ezra Ingalls (September 6, 1842 – July 11, 1914), commonly abbreviated M. E. Ingalls, was a Massachusetts state legislator who went on to become president of the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad (the Big Four Railroad).[2]

M. E. Ingalls, engraving done around 1887
Melville Ezra Ingalls
BornSeptember 6, 1842
Harrison, Maine
DiedJuly 11, 1914(1914-07-11) (aged 71)
Hot Springs, Virginia
Burial placeSpring Grove Cemetery
Member of the 89th Massachusetts House of Representatives
In office
1868
President of the Boston Common Council
In office
1871
Preceded byWilliam Giles Harris[1]
Succeeded byMatthias Rich[1]

Career

Ingalls was born on September 6, 1842, in Harrison, Maine, where he worked on the family farm until he began teaching at the age of 16. He attended the North Bridgton Academy and went to study at Bowdoin College. He left for Harvard Law School where he graduated from in 1863.[3] Afterwards, Ingalls began practicing law in Gray, Maine, before moving to Boston, Massachusetts, where he became an expert in corporate law, specializing in transportation lines. In 1871, he was retained as counsel to the Cincinnati and Lafayette Railroad and would eventually become its president. After multiple consolidations under his watch, the company became known as the Big Four Railroad.[4]

Inaglls served on the Boston Common Council, serving as its president in 1870.[1]

Positions held

On July 11, 1914, Ingalls died at his summer home in Hot Springs, Virginia, from heart disease after undergoing treatment for an ulcerated tooth. He was buried in Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati, Ohio.[4]

Ingalls also organized the Joint Traffic Association, which was shut down by the United States Supreme Court[8] and co-founded the Cincinnati Technical School. He is the grandfather of David Sinton Ingalls.[4]

He financed the construction of the Ingalls Building in Cincinnati, which was the world's first reinforced concrete skyscraper in 1903. The town of Ingalls, Indiana, is named in his honor.[2]

See also

References
  1. "A Catalogue of the City Councils of Boston, 1822-1908, Roxbury, 1846-1867, Charlestown, 1847-1873 and of the Selectmen of Boston, 1634-1822: Also of Various Other Town and Municipal Officers". City of Boston Printing Department. 1909. p. 47. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  2. Indiana Historical Society. "Melville E. Ingalls Papers, 1870-1907, Collection Guide, biographical sketch" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-10-19.
  3. Chamberlain, Joshua L.; Wingate, Charles E. L.; Williams, Jesse Lynch; Lee, Albert; Paine, Henry G., eds. (1899). Universities and their Sons. Vol. III. Introduction by William Torrey Harris. R. Herndon Company. pp. 268–269.
  4. "MELVILLEE. INGALLS, FINANCIER, IS DEAD". The New York Times. July 12, 1914. p. C5.
  5. "M.E. INGALLS TO RETIRE". The New York Times. April 30, 1910. p. 18.
  6. "M.E. IGALLS'S NEW OFFICE". The New York Times. July 14, 1901. p. 4.
  7. "BAR CLOSED, CLUB OBJECTED". The New York Times. January 23, 1906. p. Special 1.
  8. United States v. Joint Traffic Association 171 U.S. 505 (1898)


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