Preceded by Ralph Budd | ||
 | ||
Born January 10, 1870
Watertown, Wisconsin ( 1870-01-10 ) Died 24 January 1939, St. Joseph's Hospital, Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States | ||
William Patrick Kenney (January 10, 1870 – January 24, 1939) was the president of the Great Northern Railway.
Biography
He was born on January 10, 1870 in Watertown, Wisconsin.
As a boy in Minneapolis, Kenney delivered newspapers. He used a goat to pull his wagon load of papers until the neighbours objected to the smell and the goat was sold to a rancher in Montana. Later, Kenney joined the Great Northern Railway which needed a trademark. He suggested the image of the goat to James J. Hill, the "Empire Builder" who ran the railroad, and it was adopted.
In 1931 he was vice president and director of traffic at the Great Northern Railway. He replaced Ralph Budd as president on January 1, 1932.
He died at St. Joseph's Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota on January 24, 1939.