James B. Duke

James B. Duke was an American tobacco and electric power industrialist born in 1856. He inherited his family's tobacco business and expanded it into a major company, eventually founding the American Tobacco Company. Later, he diversified into electricity, establishing the Southern Power Company. Duke was a significant philanthropist, funding educational institutions like Duke University in North Carolina. His ventures helped shape the American tobacco industry and electricity distribution in the South, making him a prominent figure in American business history.