Theodore Judah
Theodore Judah was one of the major supporters of the Transcontinental Railroad.
Judah died in 1863 while sailing to the U.S. East Coast in search of better investors for the project.
- He convinced investors to join the project. These investors became known as the Big Four(Leland Stanford, Collis P. Huntington, Mark Hopkins, and Charles Crocker) and were the directors of the Central Pacific Railroad Company.
- He discovered a route for the Transcontinental Railroad to take through the Sierra Nevada Mountains. This route is called Donner Pass.
- He lobbied, or built support, in Congress for the Pacific Railroad Bill which was passed in 1862.
Judah died in 1863 while sailing to the U.S. East Coast in search of better investors for the project.