Fortune
Eads made his initial fortune in salvage, by creating a diving bell for retrieving goods from the bottom of rivers that were sunk there by riverboat disasters, especially along the busy Mississippi River. He also devised special boats for raising the remains of sunken ships from the river bed. Because of his detailed knowledge of the Mississippi (the equal of any professional river pilot), his exceptional ability at navigating the most treacherous parts of the river system, and his personal fleet of snag-boats and salvage craft, he was afforded the much prized courtesy title of "Captain" by the rivermen of the Mississippi and was addressed as Captain Eads throughout his life.
Read more about this topic: James Buchanan Eads
Famous quotes containing the word fortune:
“The result showed that fortune helps the brave.”
—Titus Livius (Livy)
“When the philosophers despised riches, it was because they had a mind to vindicate their own merit, and take revenge upon the injustice of fortune by vilifying those enjoyments which she had not given them.”
—François, Duc De La Rochefoucauld (1613–1680)
“I thank my fortune for it,
My ventures are not in one bottom trusted,
Nor to one place.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)