Sign-In
Cart
Stephen Girard: The Life and Times of America's First Tycoon
Paperback
Business BiographiesBiographies GeneralHistorical Figures
ISBN13: 9781648371561
Publisher: Allegro Ed
Published: May 24 2022
Pages: 402
Weight: 1.18
Height: 0.82 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
The Inspiring and Insightful Life of an American Legend
Like a mirror of the young America he thrived in, Stephan Girard (1750-1831) displayed inexhaustible initiative, courage, tenacity, foresight, and compassion. Reflecting his creed of valuing deeds over words, he was in many ways the American Dream personified. George Wilson, a former columnist and editorial writer for The Philadelphia Inquirer, presents the inspiring true story of Girard's epic journey from ship captain to mercantilist to philanthropist-a genuine rags-to-riches tale in which Girard became one of the wealthiest Americans of all time.
Born to a French sea captain, the self-educated Girard went to sea as a cabin boy on a merchant vessel when he was just 14. He later spent several years trading in the West Indies as a ship captain. In 1776, a British naval blockade drove him to dock in Philadelphia. Destitute and in debt, Girard settled there and opened a small store. It was here that his financial acumen and novel business methods shined, and his wealth grew. He sold supplies during the Revolutionary War and founded his own mercantile fleet after the war. By 1807 he'd become America's first millionaire. Girard earned praise and respect for selflessly remaining in Philadelphia to help nurse victims of several yellow fever epidemics, even as most other prominent figures fled.
Despite his extraordinary achievements, Girard faced significant challenges and hardships: born with a deformity that left him blind in one eye he persevered without the aid of family support, and he had the financial and emotional burden of caring for his mentally ill wife. Yet, in the face of these difficulties, he prospered and helped others. Following his death in 1831 most of Girard's vast fortune was left to philanthropic causes, including support for Girard College (initially a school for poor orphan boys) to provide educational opportunity for those in greatest need. Today Stephen Girard is remembered for his generous legacy of humanitarian public service and charity as much as his extraordinary financial success; a shining example of a truly great American. Wilson's Stephen Girard is the definitive biography of Girard's compelling life story.
This book is also available from Echo Point Books as a hardcover (ISBN 1648371558).
Also from
Wilson, George
The Story of the Phantom: The Vampires and the Witch: The Complete Avon Novels Volume 12
Falk, Lee
Paperback
The Story of the Phantom: The Slave Market of Mucar: The Complete Avon Novels Volume 2
Falk, Lee
Paperback
1300 Missing Missouri Marriage Records from Newspapers, 1812-1853
Wilson, Maryhelen
Wilson, George
Stanley, Lois
Paperback
The Story of the Phantom: The Mysterious Ambassador: The Complete Avon Novels Volume 6
Falk, Lee
Paperback
The Story of the Phantom: The Mystery of the Sea Horse: The Complete Avon Novels Volume 7
Falk, Lee
Paperback
The Story of the Phantom: The Google-Eyed Pirates: The Complete Avon Novels Volume 10
Falk, Lee
Paperback
Electricity And The Electric Telegraph Together With The Chemistry Of The Stars
Wilson, George
Paperback
Historia Placitorum Coronæ: The History of the Pleas of the Crown; Volume 1
Dogherty, Thomas
Wilson, George
Hale, Matthew
Hardcover
The Financial Philosophy: Or, the principles of the science of money. With observations on the present situation.
Wilson, George
Paperback
The Story of the Phantom: The Curse of the Two-Headed Bull: The Complete Avon Novels Volume 15
Falk, Lee
Paperback
Electricity And The Electric Telegraph Together With The Chemistry Of The Stars
Wilson, George
Hardcover
Historia Placitorum Coronæ: The History of the Pleas of the Crown; Volume 1
Dogherty, Thomas
Wilson, George
Hale, Matthew
Paperback
A Compleat Course of Chymistry. Containing Near Hundred Operations; ... By George Wilson, ... The Second Edition
Wilson, George
Hardcover
Leopard Gecko Care: The Beginner's Guide to Feeding, Housing, and Long-Term Care
Wilson, George
Paperback
Psychology of the Bearded Dragon: Understanding Behavior, Cognition, and Emotional Responses in Pogona vitticeps
Wilson, George
Paperback
Also in
Historical Figures
Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy: A Righteous Gentile vs. the Third Reich
Metaxas, Eric
Paperback
The Rise of Thomas Cromwell: Power and Politics in the Reign of Henry VIII, 1485-1534
Everett, Michael
Paperback
The Lost Founder: James Wilson and the Forgotten Fight for a People's Constitution
Wegman, Jesse
Hardcover
The Lost Empire of Emanuel Nobel: Romanovs, Revolutionaries, and the Forgotten Titan Who Fueled the World
Brunt, Douglas
Hardcover
America's Founding Son: John Quincy Adams, from President to Political Maverick
Crawford, Bob
Hardcover
Thomas Jefferson Survives: American Independence in His Time and Ours
Cogliano, Francis D.
Onuf, Peter S.
Hardcover
Rebel of the Regency: The Scandalous Saga of Caroline of Brunswick, Britain's Queen Without a Crown
Foster, Ann
Hardcover
The Hiding Place: The Triumphant True Story of Corrie Ten Boom
Sherrill, John
Boom, Corrie Ten
Paperback
Biography of a Dangerous Idea: A New History of Race from Louis XIV to Thomas Jefferson
Curran, Andrew S.
Hardcover
The Nine: The True Story of a Band of Women Who Survived the Worst of Nazi Germany
Strauss, Gwen
Paperback
A Thousand Shall Fall: The Electrifying Story of a Soldier and His Family Who Dared to Practice Their Faith in Hitler's Germany
Mundy, Susi Hasel
Paperback
A Librarian's War: The Man Who Fought World War II with Books and Brought the Joy of Reading to Millions
Manning, Molly Guptill
Hardcover
Operation Sparrow: The Incredible True Story of the Spies Who Tricked Hitler and Won the War
Bell, Jason
Hardcover
The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel: Genius, Power, and Deception on the Eve of World War I
Brunt, Douglas
Paperback
Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America
Kendi, Ibram X.
Paperback
Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook
Bourdain, Anthony
Paperback
The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary
Winchester, Simon
Paperback
The Confessions of Samuel Pepys: Private Revelations from Britain's Most Famed Diarist
de la Bédoyère, Guy
Hardcover
The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America
Rosen, Jeffrey
Paperback
Solo and Together: Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh, an Enigmatic Life and Marriage
Hansen, James R.
Hardcover
American Prometheus (Pulitzer Prize Winner): The Inspiration for the Major Motion Picture Oppenheimer
Sherwin, Martin J.
Bird, Kai
Paperback
Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High
Beals, Melba Pattillo
Paperback
Stradivari's Genius: Five Violins, One Cello, and Three Centuries of Enduring Perfection
Faber, Toby
Paperback
The First Fascist: The Sensational Life and Dark Legacy of the Marquis de Morès
Luzzatto, Sergio
Hardcover
The Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It
Mazzeo, Tilar J.
Paperback
The Power Broker (Pulitzer Prize Winner): Robert Moses and the Fall of New York
Caro, Robert A.
Hardcover
The Man Behind the Cane: Preston Brooks, Political Violence, and the Road to the Civil War
Quigley, Paul
Hardcover
The Greatest Beer Run Ever: A Memoir of Friendship, Loyalty, and War
Donohue, John Chick
Molloy, J. T.
Paperback
No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II
Goodwin, Doris Kearns
Paperback
The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II
Kiernan, Denise
Paperback
Miracles in American History, Volume Two: Amazing Faith That Shaped the Nation: Adapted from William J. Federer's American Minute [With 2 Paperbacks]
Federer, Susie
Federer, William J.
Paperback
Tomboy Bride, 50th Anniversary Edition: One Woman's Personal Account of Life in Mining Camps of the West
Backus, Harriet Fish
Paperback
The Book of Charlie: Wisdom from the Remarkable American Life of a 109-Year-Old Man
Von Drehle, David
Paperback
The Faithful Executioner: Life and Death, Honor and Shame in the Turbulent Sixteenth Century
Harrington, Joel F.
Paperback
Master of the Senate (Pulitzer Prize Winner): The Years of Lyndon Johnson III
Caro, Robert A.
Paperback
The Forsaken Founder: Gouverneur Morris, the Unsung Patriot Who Wrote the Constitution, Stood Up to Slavery, and Survived the Reign of Terror
Greenberger, Scott S.
Hardcover
The Improbable Victoria Woodhull: Suffrage, Free Love, and the First Woman to Run for President
Collinsworth, Eden
Hardcover