George Pullman

George Pullman (1831-97), American inventor, who designed the first modern railroad sleeping car and patented his innovations—folding upper berths and seats that could extend into lower berths—in 1863. Born in Brocton, New York, George Mortimer Pullman was originally trained as a cabinetmaker and became a building contractor in Chicago in 1855. In 1867 he organized the Pullman Palace Car Company, which manufactured sleeping cars, parlor cars, and dining cars. In 1880 he founded the town of Pullman, Illinois, now part of Chicago, as a community for the workers of his company. The violent Pullman strike in 1894 occurred when the Pullman Palace Car Company reduced wages without reducing rents in the company town.