User:WikiWhiteRabbit/William Cornell Greene

William Cornell Greene (August 26, 1851 - August 5, 1911) was an American businessman, who was famous for discovering rich copper reserves in Cananea Mexico and founded the Greene Consolidated Copper Company in 1899. By 1905, William Greene was one of the wealthiest businessmen in the world.

Early life
Greene was born in Westchester County, New York on August 26, 1851. He was a son of Eleanor Cornell and Towusend Greene. He was educated at private schools and at the Chappaqua Mountain Institute in Cahppaqua,New York.

Career
Greene started off as a clerk for O. H. Angevin & Co. where he worked for three years before heading out to the western United States as a surveying party member of the Northern Pacific Railroad. He left the Railroad and then in 1870 staked out the site of Fargo, North Dakota before becoming involved with various businesses. He worked in both min- ing and cattle-raising industries across the southwest which included Montana, Colorado, Arizona, and Mexico.

Most notable is that William led an adventurous life while prospecting and ranching in the southwestern United States and Mexico. He was reported to have had numerous encounters with local native tribes and outlaws that roamed the areas where he prospected.

Cooper Magnate
On September 15, 1899, William founded the Greene Consolidated Copper Company to develop copper rich resources he discovered near Cananea, Mexico. Greene Consolidated became in a very short time one of the richest sources of cooper ore in the world, with an average output over 70 million pounds per year. Accordingly, Greene himself soon became one of the wealthiest businessmen in the United States and based on his success soon created a number of other ventures; the Pacific Coast Coal Company, Greene Consolidated Gold Company, and the Cananea Railroad Company, Sierra Madre Land and Lumber Company, as well as many others. None of his other ventures ever produced the wealth found in the copper mines of Cananea.

The End of Greene's Fortunes
Greene often referred to himself as a very lucky individual, and his luck being the primary source of escape from various problems in life. However, mining strikes at the Cananea mines were the beginning of the end for Greene Consolidated. In May 1906, the mines were under siege by hostile miners unhappy about unequal pay. Greene called for help and was quickly supported by the local the Sonoran rurales as well as by the Arizona Rangers who entered Senora against orders.

In addition to the troubles with miners, many of Greene's backers in New York began to turn on him. The Lawson Panic which began to erode the price of copper stocks was almost the end of Greene, but it was not until his own overspending in related businesses combined with the aggressive business tactics of rival business men and competitors forced Greene to succumb. With dwindling finances and now where else to turn, he was forced to sell Greene Consolidated to Amalgamated Copper.

After his death in 1911, Greene was buried in Cananea Senora.