Sir Henry Worth Thornton was a businessman and president of Canadian National Railways.
Background
Thornton was born on November 6, 1871 in Logansport, Ind.
Henry Worth Thornton was the son of Henry Clay Thornton, a prominent Logansport, Indiana, lawyer, and Millamenta Comegys Worth. Millamenta belonged to the wealthy Worth family of Newtown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Her father, James Worth, made a fortune in hardware and purchased “Sharon”, the family’s estate in Newtown. Henry Clay Thornton belonged to the Thorntons of Logansport. Sir Henry W. Thornton’s uncles included prominent Cincinnati physician William Patton Thornton and educator and businessman Joseph L. Thornton. He was cousin to Judge William Wheeler Thornton and Martha Thornton Goodrich, grandmother of Broadway and silent screen star Edna Goodrich. His father's cousin, Samuel W. Thornton, served in the 1887 Nebraska Legislature. Henry’s sister, Margaret Worth Thornton, married Isaac Wheeler Geer, an influential railroad executive. They had two daughters, Helen Thornton Geer, an author and professor of library science, and Margaret Worth Geer, who married Rep. John Henry Kleine, a member of the Illinois General Assembly.
Education
He prepared for college at St. Paul's School, Concord, N. H. , and was graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1894, with the degree of B. S.
He earned an honorary doctorate from his alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania.
Career
He began his railroad service in 1894 as a draftsman in the office of the chief engineer of the Southwest system of the Pennsylvania Railroad and advanced rapidly in that department to the position of engineer of maintenance of way. In 1901 he became a division superintendent and in 1911, after several promotions, was appointed general superintendent of the Long Island Railroad. His work was of such character that it attracted the attention of Samuel Rea, then president of the Pennsylvania Railroad, and in 1914, when asked by Lord Claude Hamilton, chairman of the board of the Great Eastern Railway of England, to suggest a man for the general managership of that property, Rea recommended Thornton, who was elected to the position a few months before the outbreak of the World War.
When Great Britain entered the war and the Great Eastern was called upon to perform an important part in the transportation of troops and military supplies, Thornton's ability and resourcefulness in adapting the service of his railway to meet the emergency, his tact in relations with railway and governmental officers and the public, and his exceptional powers in inspiring the confidence and loyalty of the workers, quickly overcame the initial prejudice against him as an alien. He was made a member of the national committee of general managers appointed to administer the British railways for the government.
In 1916 he was appointed deputy director of inland water transportation, with rank of colonel in the Royal Engineers. In 1917 he became assistant director general of railway movements in France, representing the director and army council in negotiations with the French, Italian, and American governments. Later in that year he became deputy director general of railway movements, with rank of brigadier-general, and in 1918 he was made inspector general of transportation and advanced to the rank of major-general. His military service completed, he returned to the management of the Great Eastern Railway and on several occasions served also on the National Wage Board in arbitration proceedings, as well as on a committee to investigate the operations and finances of the Metropolitan Water Board of the City of London.
Thornton became a naturalized British subject in 1919, evidently intending to remain in England, but when steps were taken in 1922 to consolidate all of the English railways into four systems there was some uncertainty as to his position. It was then that the Canadian National Railways, just created in Canada by the amalgamation of a large number of separate railways, sought his services, and in October 1922 he became chairman of the board and president of that large system. The properties brought together as a nationalized system to compete with the strong and well organized Canadian Pacific Railway were typically weak and had little in common. The task of welding them into a coherent and unified whole was one of major proportions. Many of the separate units were bankrupt and in poor physical condition when acquired, and the morale of employees was distinctly low.
During his ten years as chief executive Thornton succeeded in welding the properties together, creating an efficient operating organization, and establishing a high degree of esprit de corps. While he was unable to satisfy all shades of political opinion or to make the system earn enough in net income to pay interest charges on all of the government obligations incurred in the acquisition of the properties, he raised the net revenue (exclusive of the interest charges) from $2, 000, 000 in 1922 to almost $60, 000, 000 in 1928, and brought the quality of public service to a high standard.
With the depression in 1929, however, the Canadian National deficits increased and political opposition became intensified. The government then in power was not of the same political faith as that which had called Thornton from England in 1922. Criticism was focussed upon him personally and fault was found with his policies, especially those which called for expenditures which in his far-sighted view he believed would be ultimately justified by improved service.
Despite constantly increasing criticism and political pressure he held to his task, but in July 1932 finally resigned when the opposition became so strong as to impair his usefulness. After his retirement he returned to New York. The strain had told upon his health, and he died of pneumonia following an operation at the age of sixty-one.
His death occurred a few days before the scheduled date for a dinner to be given him in New York City by organized labor as a testimonial of confidence and respect.
Achievements
Sir Henry Worth Thornton is remembered as General Superintendent of the Long Island Rail Road from 1911 to 1914 and General Manager of the Great Eastern Railway in England from 1914 to 1922. From 1922 to 1932, he was the President of the Canadian National Railways.
In 1919 he was gazetted Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire. He was honored also by decorations from the United States, France, and Belgium.
Thornton Park (across from former CN Pacific Central Station) and Thornton Street in Vancouver and hotel (Sir Henry Thornton Village at former CN Hotel Jasper Park Lodge) in Canada, are named after Sir Henry Thornton.
One of his outstanding characteristics was his liberal attitude in relations with organized labor, especially in the creation of cooperative committees of shopmen.
Interests
In his youth Thornton was an athlete and a member of the football team of his college. Of imposing stature, he was a commanding figure, and he carried himself as a leader of men.
Connections
On June 20, 1901, Thornton married Virginia Dike Blair of New Castle, Pa. A son and a daughter were born to this marriage, which was ended by divorce in 1926. In September of that year he married Martha Watriss of New York City.
Henry's son, James Worth Thornton, married Elena Mumm Thornton, a European aristocrat and champagne heiress. After divorcing James Worth Thornton, Elena married Edmund Wilson, the noted essayist and critic.
