Phineas Banning
| Phineas Banning | |
|---|---|
Founder of the Port of Los Angeles
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| Born |
August 19, 1830 Wilmington, Delaware, USA |
| Died | March 8, 1885 (aged 54) San Francisco, California, USA |
| Spouse(s) | Rebecca Sanford (1856–1868) (her death) Mary Hollister (1870–1885) (his death) |
Phineas Banning (August 19, 1830 – March 8, 1885) was an American businessman, financier and entrepreneur.
Known as "The Father of the Port of Los Angeles," he was one of the founders of the town of Wilmington, which was named for his birthplace. His drive and ambition laid the foundations for what would become one of the busiest ports in the world.
Besides operating a freighting business, Banning operated a stage coach line between San Pedro and Wilmington, and later between Banning, California, which was named in his honor, and Yuma, Arizona.
During the Civil War, he ceded land to the Union Army to build a fort at Wilmington, the Drum Barracks. He was appointed a brigadier general of the First Brigade of the militia, and used the title of general for the rest of his life.
Banning was born in Wilmington, Delaware, the seventh of 11 children to John Alford Banning (1790–1851) and Elizabeth Lowber (1792–1861). At age 13, he moved to Philadelphia to work in his oldest brother's law firm. By his late teens, Banning was working on the dockyards of Philadelphia. At the age of 20, he signed up to work a passage to a then-exotic destination—Southern California.
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