Carpenter, mechanic, farmer, salesman, inventor, entrepreneur, politician and philanthropist, Ezra Cornell was an extraordinary man. While he referred to himself simply as a farmer and mechanic who had spent some time working in the telegraph industry, through skillful work, uncommon tenacity, and fortuitous circumstances, he amassed a fortune. Ezra Cornell envisioned America as a place where technology, wealth, and altruism could come together to benefit all of its inhabitants. In 1865, with his fortune at hand, he founded Cornell University.