Samuel Insull

Samuel Insull
Samuel Insull in 1920
Born	(1859-11-11)November 11, 1859 London, England, United Kingdom
Died	July 16, 1938(1938-07-16) (aged 78) Paris, France
Resting place	Putney Vale Cemetery, London
Occupation	Business executive
Known for	Chicago utilities empire
Spouse(s)	Gladys Wallis (married 1899–1938)

Samuel Insull (November 11, 1859 – July 16, 1938) was a British-born American business magnate; an innovator and investor based in Chicago who greatly contributed to creating an integrated electrical infrastructure in the United States. Insull was notable for purchasing utilities and railroads using holding companies. He was also responsible for the building of the Chicago Civic Opera House in 1929.

In the Great Depression, his vast Midwest holding company empire collapsed, and he was accused of profiting personally by selling worthless to unsuspecting investors who trusted him because of his position and reputation. He was acquitted at trial.

Insull was born on 11 November 1859 in London, the son of Samuel Insull, a tradesman and lay preacher who was active in the Temperance movement, and Emma Short. He had a brother, Martin Insull. His career began as an apprentice clerk for various local businesses at age 14. He went on to become a stenographer at Vanity Fair. Through a newspaper ad, the 19-year-old became the switchboard operator for the London office of Edison's telephone companies. When he learned of a job with Edison in the US, Insull indicated he would be glad to have it, provided it was as Thomas Edison's personal secretary.

In 1881, at the age of 21, Insull emigrated to the US, complete with side whiskers to make him appear older than his years. In the decade that followed, Insull took on increasing responsibilities in Edison's business endeavors, building electrical power stations throughout the US. With several other Edison Pioneers, he founded Edison General Electric, which later became the publicly held company now known as General Electric. Insull rose to become vice-president of General Electric in 1889, but was unhappy at not being named its president. When the presidency went to someone else, Insull moved to Chicago as head of the Chicago Edison Company. Another consideration is that he was caught between opposing factions when J. P. Morgan combined the Thomson-Houston Electric Company and Edison General Electric to form the new company in April 1892. Those loyal to Edison accused Insull of selling out, and in fact he did welcome the infusion of capital from Vanderbilt, J. P. Morgan and others as necessary for the company's future development. Edison quickly forgave him, but others did not, and it seemed a good idea to get out of town.