# Fairfax Harrison > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Fairfax_Harrison > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Fairfax_Harrison.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairfax_Harrison > Source revision: 1353552483 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|American railroad president and writer (1869–1938)}} {{Featured article}} {{Bots|deny=InternetArchiveBot}} {{Use American English|date=July 2017}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}} {{Infobox writer | name = Fairfax Harrison | image = Fairfax Harrison.jpg | alt = Sepia photograph of a middle-aged man in a dark suit and white shirt | caption = Fairfax Harrison, taken before 1913 | pseudonym = A Virginia Farmer | birth_name = Reginald Fairfax Harrison | birth_date = March 13, 1869 | birth_place = New York City, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|1938|2|2|1869|3|13}} | death_place = [Baltimore, Maryland](/source/Baltimore%2C_Maryland), U.S. | occupation = Railroad president | education = [Yale University](/source/Yale_University) ([BA](/source/Bachelor_of_Arts))
[Columbia University](/source/Columbia_University) ([MA](/source/Master_of_Arts)) | genre = History | subject = [Thoroughbred](/source/Thoroughbred)s, Virginia local history, genealogy | notableworks = {{Plain list| * ''Proprietors of the Northern Neck'' * ''Landmarks of Old Prince William'' * ''Background of the American Stud Book'' * ''Early American Turf Stock'' }} | spouse = {{Marriage|Hetty Cary|1894}} | children = 4 | parents = {{Plain list| * [Burton Harrison](/source/Burton_Harrison) (father) * [Constance Cary Harrison](/source/Constance_Cary_Harrison) (mother) }} | relatives = [Francis Burton Harrison](/source/Francis_Burton_Harrison) (brother) | signature = | signature_alt = }} '''Reginald Fairfax Harrison''' (March 13, 1869 – February 2, 1938) was an American lawyer, businessman, and author. A son of [the secretary](/source/Burton_Harrison) to [Confederate](/source/Confederate_States_of_America) President [Jefferson Davis](/source/Jefferson_Davis), Harrison studied law at [Yale University](/source/Yale_University) and [Columbia University](/source/Columbia_University) before becoming a lawyer for the [Southern Railway Company](/source/Southern_Railway_(U.S.)) in 1896. By 1906, he was Southern's vice-president of finance, and in 1907, he helped secure funding to keep the company solvent. In 1913, he was elected president of Southern, where he instituted a number of reforms in the way the company operated. By 1916, under Harrison's leadership, the Southern had expanded to an {{convert|8000|mi|adj=on}} network across 13 states, its greatest extent until the 1950s. In December 1917, months after [the United States entered](/source/American_entry_into_World_War_I) [World War I](/source/World_War_I) in April, the federal government took control of the railroads, running them through the [United States Railroad Administration](/source/United_States_Railroad_Administration), on which Harrison served. An economic boom after the war helped the company to expand its operations; Harrison worked to improve the railroad's public relations and to upgrade the locomotive stock by introducing more powerful engines. Another of his concerns was to increase the amount of the railroad's track and to expand the area it served. Harrison struggled to keep the railroad industry afloat during the [Great Depression](/source/Great_Depression), but by 1936, Southern was once again profitable. Harrison retired in 1937, intending to focus on his hobby of writing about historical subjects, including the roots of the American [Thoroughbred](/source/Thoroughbred) horse, but he died three months later in February 1938. ==Background and early life== Reginald Fairfax Harrison was born in New York City on March 13, 1869, to [Burton Harrison](/source/Burton_Harrison) and his wife [Constance Cary](/source/Constance_Cary_Harrison). Burton had served as private secretary to [Jefferson Davis](/source/Jefferson_Davis), the [president of the Confederate States of America](/source/president_of_the_Confederate_States_of_America) during the [American Civil War](/source/American_Civil_War), and Constance Cary was a novelist.Davis ''Southern Railway'' p. 48 Harrison's brother, [Francis Burton Harrison](/source/Francis_Burton_Harrison), was [Governor-General of the Philippines](/source/Governor-General_of_the_Philippines) from 1913 to 1921. Another brother, Archibald, and all three attended [Yale University](/source/Yale_University). Fairfax Harrison graduated from Yale in 1890; he was a member of the [Skull and Bones](/source/Skull_and_Bones) secret society.Yale University "Obituary Record" ''Bulletin of Yale University'' pp. 56–57 He went on to attend [Columbia University](/source/Columbia_University), earning a [Master's](/source/Master's_degree) in Arts.Swem Library staff "Harrison, Fairfax" ''Special Collections Research Center'' ==Railroad career== ===Early career=== Harrison was admitted to the New York State bar in 1892 and worked for the law firm Bangs, Stetson, Tracy & MacVeagh from 1892 to 1896. He joined the [Southern Railway Company](/source/Southern_Railway_(U.S.)) in May 1896 as a lawyer, becoming an assistant to the company's president in 1903. He served as vice-president in charge of finance and accounting from 1906. During the [Panic of 1907](/source/Panic_of_1907), Harrison successfully persuaded [J. P. Morgan](/source/J._P._Morgan) to purchase bonds in the Southern to keep the company solvent.Bryan "Fairfax Harrison" ''Virginia Magazine of History and Biography'' pp. 153–157 After the panic had subsided, Harrison was named president of the Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville Railway, later the [Monon Railroad](/source/Monon_Railroad) (succeeded [Ira G. Rawn](/source/Ira_G._Rawn){{cite web| url=http://www.monon.org/history2.html| title=Presidents, Receivers and Trustees| author=Monon Railroad Historical and Technical Society| year=2004–2006| access-date=November 22, 2013 }} after Rawn's death), which was jointly owned by Southern and the [Louisville & Nashville Railroad](/source/Louisville_%26_Nashville_Railroad).Davis ''Southern Railway'' p. 49 [William Finley](/source/William_Finley_(Southern_Railway)), president of the Southern Railway, died on November 23, 1913, and Harrison was elected as his successor eight days later.Davis ''Southern Railway'' pp. 51–52 Besides the chairmanship of the Southern Railway, he was also elected to succeed Finley on three subsidiary railroads."Fairfax Harrison Elected President of Southern Ry." ''Wall Street Journal''{{efn|These three railroads were the [Mobile and Ohio Railroad](/source/Mobile_and_Ohio_Railroad), the [Alabama Great Southern Railway](/source/Alabama_Great_Southern_Railway), and the [Virginia Southwestern Railway](/source/Virginia_Southwestern_Railway).}} His election was considered to be a sign of change in the [Southern United States](/source/Southern_United_States), especially in its railroads, both because he was connected to Southerners and for his activism on behalf of the south. ===First years as president=== One of Harrison's first acts as president was to implement a new training program for college graduates hired by the company. Rather than being placed in supervisory roles, they were given regular entry-level jobs in the engine shops and on the building and repairing of railroad track, to give them an understanding of the basics of the railroad business. He also instituted a remedial education program for the regular workforce; they were trained in mathematics and other subjects to [high school](/source/high_school) level, as well as in engine and machine-shop basics. The program was designed to help train new supervisors in the skills needed to oversee other workers.Davis ''Southern Railway'' pp. 53–54 Another of Harrison's goals was to raise the morale of the workforce and [locomotive](/source/locomotive) engineers; crews were assigned to the same locomotives, and senior engineers were allowed to paint their names on their engines. When business declined in 1914, Harrison reduced his salary by 20 percent, but introduced smaller and graduated cuts for other staff, with the smallest percentages at the lowest pay scales. Other efforts to improve morale included rewards for fuel efficiency and the improvement of safety, including stricter investigation of accidents. Harrison oversaw changes in the railway's board of directors. Until 1915, most of the members of the board were from the northern United States, but after 1915, a majority of the board members were southerners. In 1914, there were two unusual appointments to the board: [Edwin Alderman](/source/Edwin_Alderman) and [John Kilgo](/source/John_Kilgo). Alderman was the president of the [University of Virginia](/source/University_of_Virginia) and Kilgo was a bishop in the [Methodist Episcopal Church](/source/Methodist_Episcopal_Church).Davis ''Southern Railway'' p. 55 Harrison established a foreign trade department for the railroad, hoping to take advantage of the railway's ability to connect to the [Mississippi Valley](/source/Mississippi_Valley) and [Atlantic](/source/East_Coast_of_the_United_States) and [Gulf of Mexico](/source/Gulf_of_Mexico) ports. In 1915, when the railway lost 12 percent of its revenue owing to disruptions in trade caused by the start of World War I, Harrison was concerned about longer-term changes underway. In the annual report that year he warned stockholders that automobile ownership could severely impact railroad passenger revenues. His words proved prophetic, as automobiles eventually led to the disappearance of most passenger train traffic.Davis ''Southern Railway'' pp. 56–57 ===World War I=== thumb|right|250px|A Southern Railway Ps-4 heavy Pacific locomotive painted in the distinctive green and gold colors that Harrison introduced From 1913 to 1919, Harrison oversaw the extension of [double-track](/source/double-track_railway) on the railway's mainline between [Washington, D.C.](/source/Washington%2C_D.C.) and [Atlanta, Georgia](/source/Atlanta%2C_Georgia). The project was hampered by the war effort, but eventually covered the complete {{convert|638|mi|km|sp=us|adj=on}} distance between the two cities. In 1916, Harrison acquired a railroad line that ran from [Meridian, Mississippi](/source/Meridian%2C_Mississippi), to [New Orleans, Louisiana](/source/New_Orleans%2C_Louisiana). This brought Southern Railway's track total to more than {{convert|8000|mi|km}}, covering 13 states. After [the United States entered World War I](/source/American_entry_into_World_War_I) in April 1917, some military training camps were located in the south, and much of the construction material used to build them was hauled over the Southern Railway. Harrison was elected chairman of the [Railroads' War Board](/source/Railroads'_War_Board), a coordinating committee of railroad presidents. Its five members were tasked with eliminating bottlenecks and fostering cooperation between the various railroads.Davis ''Southern Railway'' pp. 58–61 The board's efforts failed to meet the government's expectations; in December 1917, [Woodrow Wilson](/source/Woodrow_Wilson), the [President of the United States](/source/President_of_the_United_States), ordered the federal government to take control of the railroads by establishing the [United States Railroad Administration](/source/United_States_Railroad_Administration) (USRA). Harrison worked for the USRA during [World War I](/source/World_War_I) and, under its regulations, was required to step down as chairman of the Southern Railway. By the time the USRA returned control of Southern in March 1920, its treasury was bare. A few years of operation returned a surplus to the company, which led to the stockholders requesting in 1923 that the railroad pay a [dividend](/source/dividend) to the holders of the [common stock](/source/common_stock), something Southern had never done. Harrison managed to block the request, but in March 1924 a subsequent demand was successful, and a dividend of $5 ({{inflation|US|5|1924|fmt=eq}}) per share was declared. That was increased to $7 ({{inflation|US|7|1926|fmt=eq}}) per share in 1926 and $8 in 1928 ({{inflation|US|8|1928|fmt=eq}}).{{Inflation-fn|US}} ===1920s=== left|thumb|400px|Map of the Southern Railway's routes in 1921, shown as bold lines thumb|Harrison in 1927 An economic boom in the South following the end of World War I greatly increased Southern's revenues. Harrison spent a good deal of time traveling around the [Southern United States](/source/Southern_United_States), endeavoring to increase Southern industry. When he traveled, he used two private railroad cars, named the Carolina and the Virginia. Other railroad presidents used only one, which made Harrison's practice unique. The Carolina was a [sleeping car](/source/sleeping_car) and the Virginia was set up to serve members of the board of directors, with a kitchen, dining room, and observation area.Davis ''Southern Railway'' p. 62 Harrison attempted to increase the power of Southern's locomotives. In 1923, engineers under his direction created the plans for the [Ps-4](/source/Southern_Railway_Ps-4_class) class of Pacific type locomotives, which became famous and a symbol of the Southern Railway. On a visit to England, Harrison had seen the paint scheme used by the [London and North Eastern Railway](/source/London_and_North_Eastern_Railway), which used apple green-painted engines. Returning home in 1925, he ordered the newly delivered Pacifics painted a forest green, which he called Virginia, with gold lettering and silver trim. These engines pulled the newly refurbished passenger trains that Harrison had begun work on before the war. He also instituted new passenger lines. In 1921 the [Suwannee River Special](/source/Suwannee_River_Special) began to run between Chicago, [Detroit](/source/Detroit), and [Cleveland](/source/Cleveland) down to [Tampa](/source/Tampa%2C_Florida) and [St. Petersburg](/source/St._Petersburg%2C_Florida) in Florida. The [Crescent Limited](/source/Crescent_Limited) began service in 1925 between New Orleans and New York, with a scheduled time for the one-way trip of 37 hours and 50 minutes.Davis ''Southern Railway'' pp. 62–64 Harrison continued the public relations and advertising efforts of his predecessors; in 1924, an advertising campaign was launched with the slogan "The Southern Serves the South", which soon became well known.Davis ''Southern Railway'' pp. 64–65 Harrison also spent long hours in negotiations to secure the legal foundations of the railway, consolidating the railroad's debt and acquiring majority control of some of the smaller lines that made up the railway.Davis ''Southern Railway'' p. 66 In 1926, the United States government forced the railroad to move out of its headquarters on [Pennsylvania Avenue](/source/Pennsylvania_Avenue_(Washington%2C_D.C.)) in Washington, D.C. Although Harrison threatened to take the company headquarters to Atlanta, in the end, a new headquarters building was built on [McPherson Square](/source/McPherson_Square). Harrison installed a private lobby entrance leading to a private elevator to the 10th and 11th floors. The railroad took occupancy of the building in the middle of 1929.Davis ''Southern Railway'' pp. 67–68 During these years, Harrison exhibited a number of personality quirks that became legendary. One was his habit of inviting subordinates to dine with him in the executive dining room by sending them a blue chip bearing the meal's conversational topic. Usually, the topics were intellectual rather than related to the running of the railroad. Another oddity was his refusal to use his railroad pass, which entitled him to free travel. Instead, he personally paid for his commute between his home and the railroad's offices. ===Great Depression=== Before the [Wall Street Crash of 1929](/source/Wall_Street_Crash_of_1929), Southern's stock sold for around $146 ({{inflation|US|146|1929|r=-1|fmt=eq}}), with an all-time high of just over $151 ({{inflation|US|151|1929|r=-1|fmt=eq}}).{{Inflation-fn|US}} In 1932, the stock hit a low of $2.50 ({{inflation|US|2.5|1932|fmt=eq}}).{{Inflation-fn|US}} In 1929, Southern's freight traffic had been 8.4 billion [ton-mile](/source/ton-mile)s; it fell to 4.4 billion ton-miles in 1932. Southern's debt rose, and the company almost entered bankruptcy in 1932. Harrison ordered the payment of dividends to be halted in 1932, and many employees took pay cuts. Further efforts included a thorough check of expenses, with every item subjected to scrutiny to see what could be eliminated. By 1936, the railroad again showed a profit; this marked the turning point for the company in dealing with the Great Depression.Davis ''Southern Railway'' pp. 69–70 Harrison chose not to be reappointed as president in 1937. He nominated Ernest Norris as his successor."South Server" ''Time'' Harrison, who was 68 at the time, planned to concentrate on his hobby of writing historical works, but he died three months after his retirement. ==Writing career== Harrison was an author as well as an industrialist, writing on Virginia history and genealogy. Among his works were a translation of the agricultural works of ancient Roman writer [Marcus Porcius Cato](/source/Cato_the_Elder) and several books on the local history of Virginia, including ''The Landmarks of Old Prince William'', ''Devon Carys'', ''Proprietors of the Northern Neck'' and ''Virginia Carys''. He also wrote on the early history of the American Thoroughbred racehorse; his work includes ''The Belair Stud'', ''The Roanoke Stud'', ''The Background of the American Stud Book'', ''The Equine F.F.V's'',Podeschi ''Books on the Horse'' p. 304 ''The John's Island Stud'',Podeschi ''Books on the Horse'' pp. 329–330 and ''Early American Turf Stock''. The last came out in two volumes, the first on [mare](/source/mare)s in 1934,Podeschi ''Books on the Horse'' pp. 343–344 and the second on [stallion](/source/stallion)s in 1935.Podeschi ''Books on the Horse'' pp. 352–353 Peter Willet, a later writer on Thoroughbreds, described him as an "indefatigable researcher in American pedigrees".Willet ''Classic Racehorse'' p. 107 Harrison also served on the Executive Committee of the [Virginia Historical Society](/source/Virginia_Historical_Society) and was instrumental in the preparation of the 120-volume ''[Virginia Historical Index](/source/Virginia_Historical_Index)''. ==Family, death, and legacy== thumb|1928 photograph of Belvoir House, home of Fairfax Harrison Harrison married Hetty Cary in 1894. They had four children: three daughters, Ursula, Constance, and Sally, and a son, Richard. He was a member of the [Episcopal Church](/source/Episcopal_Church_(United_States)). Harrison was described as "physically imposing" and gray-haired in his middle age.Davis ''Southern Railway'' p. 53 Harry DeButts, an employee and protégé, described him as "a little cold when you first met him, but underneath he was a very warm, admirable, capable and wise man".Quoted in Davis ''Southern Railway'' p. 53 He died on February 2, 1938, of heart disease,"Milestones" ''Time'' and was buried in [Ivy Hill Cemetery](/source/Ivy_Hill_Cemetery_(Alexandria%2C_Virginia)) in [Alexandria, Virginia](/source/Alexandria%2C_Virginia). On the day after Harrison's death, ''[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)'' carried his obituary, but instead of a photograph of Harrison, the picture that ran with the obituary was of [John Jeremiah Pelley](/source/John_Jeremiah_Pelley), the president of the [Association of American Railroads](/source/Association_of_American_Railroads), who was still alive."Painful Pictures" ''Time'' The [College of William and Mary](/source/College_of_William_and_Mary) in Virginia holds some of his papers.Swem Library staff "Fairfax Harrison Papers, 1736–1945" ''Special Collections Research Center'' A selection of his letters was published in 1944 under the title ''A Selection of the Letters of Fairfax Harrison''.Weddell "Book Reviews: ''A Selection of the Letters of Fairfax Harrison''" The University of Virginia library has on loan another collection of Harrison's papers.University of Virginia Library staff "A Guide to the Fairfax Harrison Papers" ''Special Collections'' Correspondence and business files from his time as president of the Southern Railway are held by the [Southern Railway Historical Society](/source/Southern_Railway_Historical_Society) in their collection of president's files. They were loaned to the [Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History](/source/Southern_Museum_of_Civil_War_and_Locomotive_History) in 2003 and were still there in 2008.Southern Civil War Museum staff "Southern Railway Historical Association Collection of Southern Railway President's Files: Fairfax Harrison, 1931" ''Southern Civil War Museum'' ==See also== * [Southern Railway 1401](/source/Southern_Railway_1401) – single surviving locomotive from the Ps-4 class of Southern locomotives ==Notes== {{notelist|60em}} ==Citations== {{Reflist|40em}} ==References== {{refbegin|60em}} * {{cite journal |author=Bryan, John Stewart |title=Fairfax Harrison: An Appreciation |journal=[Virginia Magazine of History and Biography](/source/Virginia_Magazine_of_History_and_Biography) |author-link=John Stewart Bryan |volume=46 |issue=2 |date=April 1938 |pages=153–157 |jstor=4244858 }} * {{cite book |author=Davis, Burke |title=The Southern Railway: Road of the Innovators |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |location=Chapel Hill, NC |year=1985 |isbn=0-8078-1636-1 }} * {{cite book |author=Podeschi, John B. |title=Books on the Horse and Horsemanship: Riding, Hunting, Breeding & Racing 1400–1941 |series=Sport in Art and Books: The Paul Mellon Collection |publisher=The Tate Gallery |location=London |year=1981 |isbn=0-905005-53-8 }} * {{cite web |author=Southern Civil War Museum staff |title=Southern Railway Historical Association Collection of Southern Railway President's Files: Fairfax Harrison, 1931 |url=http://www.southernmuseum.org/archives/FairfaxHarrison1931.pdf |publisher=Southern Civil War Museum |access-date=November 18, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090106051714/http://southernmuseum.org/archives/FairfaxHarrison1931.pdf |archive-date=January 6, 2009 }} * {{cite news |author=Staff |title=Fairfax Harrison Elected President of Southern Ry. |newspaper=Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/822479// |date=December 2, 1913 |page=2 |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=August 5, 2014 }} {{Open access}} * {{cite web |author=Swem Library staff |title=Fairfax Harrison Papers, 1736–1945 |work=Special Collections Research Center |publisher=College of William and Mary |url=http://scrc.swem.wm.edu/?p=collections/controlcard&id=7446 |access-date=November 18, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100810135736/http://scrc.swem.wm.edu/?p=collections%2Fcontrolcard&id=7446 |archive-date=August 10, 2010 }} * {{cite web |author=Swem Library staff |title=Harrison, Fairfax |work=Special Collections Research Center |publisher=College of William and Mary |url=http://scrc.swem.wm.edu/?p=core/search&creatorid=893 |access-date=November 18, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728051628/http://scrc.swem.wm.edu/?p=core%2Fsearch&creatorid=893 |archive-date=July 28, 2011 }} * {{cite magazine |author=Time staff |title=Business & Finance: South Server |magazine=[Time](/source/Time_(magazine)) |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,882920-2,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091130173502/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,882920-2,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 30, 2009 |date=November 1, 1937 |access-date=November 18, 2009 }} * {{cite magazine |author=Time staff |title=Milestones, Feb. 14, 1938 |magazine=[Time](/source/Time_(magazine)) |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,848824,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100826052515/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,848824,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 26, 2010 |date=February 14, 1938 |access-date=November 18, 2009 }} * {{cite magazine |author=Time staff |title=The Press: Painful Pictures |magazine=[Time](/source/Time_(magazine)) |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,848828,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100826053103/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,848828,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 26, 2010 |date=February 14, 1938 |access-date=November 18, 2009 }} * {{cite web |author=University of Virginia Library staff |title=A Guide to the Fairfax Harrison Papers |work=Special Collections |url=http://ead.lib.virginia.edu/vivaead/published/uva-sc/viu03510.admin |publisher=University of Virginia Library |access-date=November 18, 2009 }} * {{cite journal |author=Weddell, Alexander W. |title=Book Reviews: ''A Selection of the Letters of Fairfax Harrison'' |journal=[The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography](/source/The_Virginia_Magazine_of_History_and_Biography) |author-link=Alexander W. Weddell |year=1945 |volume=53 |issue=1 |pages=70–72 |jstor=4245336 }} * {{cite book |author=Willett, Peter |title=The Classic Racehorse |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |location=Lexington, KY |year=1982 |isbn=0-8131-1477-2 }} * {{cite journal |author=Yale University |title=Obituary Record of Graduates of Yale University Deceased during the Year 1937–1938 |journal=Bulletin of Yale University|url=http://mssa.library.yale.edu/obituary_record/1925_1952/1937-38.pdf |volume=35 |number=12 |date=March 1, 1939 |access-date=April 20, 2011 |pages=56–57 }} {{refend}} ==External links== {{Commons category}} * {{Gutenberg author | id=31708| name=Fairfax Harrison}} * {{Internet Archive author |sname=Fairfax Harrison |sopt=t}} * [https://openlibrary.org/a/OL114205A/Harrison_Fairfax Open Library listing of Harrison's works] {{s-start}} {{s-bus}} {{s-bef | before = [Ira G. Rawn](/source/Ira_G._Rawn)}} {{s-ttl | title = President of [Monon Railroad](/source/Monon_Railroad)| | years = 1910–1913}} {{s-aft | after = [Frederic Adrian Delano](/source/Frederic_Adrian_Delano)}} {{s-bef| before= [William W. Finley](/source/William_W._Finley_(Southern_Railway))}} {{s-ttl| title=President of [Southern Railway](/source/Southern_Railway_(US))| years=1913–1937}} {{s-aft| after=[Earnest E. Norris](/source/Earnest_E._Norris)}} {{end}} {{Portal bar|Horses|Sports|Trains|Biography}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Fairfax}} Category:1869 births Category:1938 deaths Category:20th-century American business executives in rail transportation Category:Burials at Ivy Hill Cemetery (Alexandria, Virginia) Category:Businesspeople from New York City Category:Columbia University alumni Category:Historians from New York (state) Category:Members of Skull and Bones Category:Southern Railway (U.S.) Category:Writers from New York City Category:Yale University alumni --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Fairfax Harrison](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairfax_Harrison) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairfax_Harrison?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.