Thomas C. Durant

Thomas Clark Durant was an American physician, businessman, and financier who played a central role in the formation of the Union Pacific Railroad. He was vice-president of the Union Pacific in 1869 when it met with the Central Pacific Railroad at Promontory Summit, Utah Territory. He created the financial structure that led to the Crédit Mobilier scandal. He was interested in hotels in the Adirondacks and once owned the schooner-yacht Idler, a successful America’s Cup defender.