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Andrew Smith Hallidie

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Inventor

The Resume

    (March 16, 1836-April 24, 1900)
    Born in London, United Kingdom
    Birth name was Andrew Smith
    Naturalized US citizen (1864)
    Invented the Hallidie ropeway, an aerial tramway for mines (1867)
    Promoter of the Clay Street Hill Railway in San Francisco, the first successful cable car system (1873)

Why he might be annoying:

    His status as inventor of the cable car and as father of San Francisco's cable car system have both been disputed.
    Clay Street Hill Railroad engineer William Eppelsheimer sued him over their joint patents on the cable car system (1877), but withdrew the suit a year later.
    Cable cars spread rapidly to other cities as a replacement for horse-drawn transport, only to be replaced equally rapidly in the 1890s by cheaper and easier to operate electric streetcars.
    Cable cars lasted in San Francisco only because several of its hills were too steep for electric streetcars to run on.
    He ran unsuccessfully for the California State Senate (1873) and mayor of San Francisco (1875).

Why he might not be annoying:

    He introduced wire rope manufacturing to California (1856).
    He designed and built several bridges in the California interior.
    He served on the Board of Regents of the University of California for a record 32 years (1868-1900).
    San Francisco's cable cars became a symbol of the city and were named a National Historic Landmark (1964).
    He was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame (2006).

Credit: C. Fishel


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    In 2023, Out of 5 Votes: 0% Annoying