William Wheelwright

Wheelwright, William (1798–1873), U.S. businessperson and promoter who opened the first steamship line between South America and Europe. He was responsible for building the first railroad and telegraph lines in Argentina, Chile, and Peru. Shipwrecked near Buenos Aires in 1823, he settled in South America, where he recognized the vast commercial possibilities and natural resources. A native of New England, Wheelwright was born in Newburyport, Mass.