Chauncey M. (Chauncey Mitchell) Depew

Born in Peekskill, New York, Chauncey Mitchell Depew studied at Yale, trained as a lawyer, and rose to national prominence in both public life and business. He served in New York state government early in his career and later became closely associated with the Vanderbilt railroad empire, eventually serving as president of the New York Central Railroad System.

Depew is also remembered for his two terms as a United States senator from New York, serving from 1899 to 1911. In his own time, though, he was just as famous for his personality as for his offices: he was widely known as an after-dinner speaker, wit, and storyteller whose speeches made him a recognizable public figure far beyond politics.

For listeners coming to his work today, Depew is interesting not only as a statesman and businessman but as a voice from an age of railroads, formal oratory, and grand public occasions. His writing carries the tone of a man who spent decades at the center of American power and social life, and it preserves the manners, humor, and self-confidence of that world.