author
Thomas Kearns
1862–1918
A self-made silver magnate turned senator, he rose from farm work and frontier hauling to become one of Utah’s most influential public figures. His life linked mining wealth, newspaper power, and early state politics in the American West.
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About the author
Born in Ontario in 1862, he moved with his family to Nebraska as a boy and left school young to work. After heading west to Utah in the 1880s, he built a fortune in mining, especially around Park City, and became known as one of the major businessmen of his era.
His influence soon reached far beyond mining. He was involved in banking, railroads, and publishing, and later served as a United States senator from Utah from 1901 to 1905. He also played a part in Utah’s political development during the years just after statehood.
Although best remembered as a businessman and politician rather than a literary figure, his name appears in historical and public-domain records because of his speeches and published political writings. He died in Salt Lake City in 1918.