Fairfax Harrison (March 13, 1869 – February 2, 1938) was an American lawyer and businessman. He became a lawyer for the Southern Railway Company in 1896, and by 1906 he was the company's vice-president of finance. In 1913 he was elected president of Southern; under his leadership, the company expanded to an 8,000-mile (13,000 km) network across 13 states. Following the United States's entry into World War I, the federal government took control of the railroads, running them through the United States Railroad Administration, on which Harrison served. After the war, Harrison worked to improve the railroad's public relations, upgrade the locomotive stock by introducing more powerful engines, increase the company's amount of railroad track and extend the area serviced by the railway. Harrison struggled to keep the railroad afloat during the Great Depression, but by 1936 Southern was once again profitable. Harrison retired in 1937 and died three months later.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairfax_Harrison

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1741:

War of Jenkins' Ear: The British began an assault against Spanish forts in the Caribbean in the Battle of Cartagena de Indias (depicted). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cartagena_de_Indias

1964:

Kitty Genovese was murdered in New York City, prompting research into the bystander effect due to the false story that neighbors witnessed the killing and did nothing to help her. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Kitty_Genovese

1996:

A gunman killed sixteen children and a teacher at a primary school in Dunblane, Scotland, before committing suicide. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunblane_massacre

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

peccant: 1. Of a person, etc.: that commits or has committed an offence or a sin; blameworthy, culpable, offending, sinful, sinning. 2. Of an action or thing: causing offence or sin; offensive, sinful. 3. (pathology, historical, also figurative) Especially of humours of the body: diseased, unhealthy; also, causing disease. 4. (obsolete) Offending a norm, a rule, etc.; defective, faulty, wrong. 5. (obsolete) An offender; also, a sinner. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/peccant

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

When I was young I never needed anyone And making love was just for fun Those days are gone. All by myself Don't want to be all by myself anymore.   --Eric Carmen https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Eric_Carmen