Person:Darius Mills (1)

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Darius Ogden Mills (September 25, 1825 – January 3, 1910) was a prominent American banker and philanthropist. For a time, he was California's wealthiest citizen.

A native of New York, Mills first came to California in 1848 after the discovery of gold and opened a general store in Sacramento. Making large profits, he soon started up the bank of D.O. Mills and Co. In 1864, he went to San Francisco where he co-founded the Bank of California with William Ralston and was appointed the bank's first president. Under Mills's and Ralston's leadership, the Bank of California invested in the silver mines of Nevada's Comstock Lode and as a result became one of the west's leading finanicial establishments. In 1873, he resigned as president and Ralston was appointed in his place. Two years later, on August 28, 1875, the Bank of California collapsed due to overspending and failed ventures, followed by Ralston's sudden death the next day. Mills then resumed the bank's presidency and within three years had re-built it to its former strength. At this time, he was reckoned the wealthiest man in the state of California. In 1878, he again resigned and moved back to New York. A noted philanthropist, he is now best remembered for the Mills Building (1891) in San Francisco and the Mills House No. 1 (1897) in New York City, the latter being one of three he had constructed to serve as inexpensive hotels for poor single men. The town of Millbrae, which is located on what was once his California estate south of San Francisco, is named in his honor.

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Darius Ogden Mills, in Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia.
2. ↑ MacColl, Gail, and Carol McD. Wallace. To Marry an English Lord. (New York: Workman Publishing, 1989).
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} Find A Grave.

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