Born on May 27, 1794, Cornelius Vanderbilt rose from modest beginnings to become one of the wealthiest individuals in American history, building a vast transportation empire that spanned steamships, railroads, and the critical corridor between New York and Chicago. During the Civil War, he donated his personal luxury steamship, the Vanderbilt, to the Union Navy to help pursue Confederate commerce raiders — a patriotic act that earned him the Congressional Gold Medal in 1864. Late in life, Vanderbilt made the landmark $1 million gift that enabled the founding of Vanderbilt University, the most enduring legacy of his limited but profoundly influential philanthropy.