George Fabyan

By Richard Munson

Subjects: Millionaires, Millionnaires, Biography, Biographies

Description: The rich are different, but George Fabyan was unique among millionaires. This Gilded Age tycoon sponsored and inspired a "community of thinkers" who advanced science in such diverse fields as acoustics, cryptography, genetics, and physiology. Yet the whimsical Fabyan also tried to construct a levitation machine that would defy gravity, and he spent millions trying to prove Sir Francis Bacon wrote Shakespeare's plays. Considering himself an "ideas man", Fabyan changed how we wage wars and keep secrets, how we transmit sound and design buildings, and how we stimulate scientific advances. He created perhaps the first independent research center, laid the foundation for the top-secret National Security Agency, and even helped end World War I by breaking German codes, capturing foreign terrorists, and developing more effective trench mortars.