Photograph was edited for publication purposes and has several small tears. Edward L. Doheny was born on August 10, 1856 in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. After high school, he worked in mines and moved to Los Angeles in 1891. Living in near poverty, Doheny leased land and discovered oil north of Downtown Los Angeles. Doheny and his partner Charles A. Canfield soon made a fortune by drilling in the area and selling the oil to nearby factories and later by persuading railroads to switch from coal to oil as power for their trains. Doheny also became a pioneer in the Mexican oil industry. In the 1920s, Doheny was indicted in the Teapot Dome Scandal and was charged with offering a $100,000 bribe to United States Secretary of the Interior Albert Fall. He was twice acquitted of offering the bribe, but Fall was finally convicted of accepting it. Doheny was a noted philanthropist in Los Angeles, especially regarding Catholic schools and charities. He died on September 8, 1935. First photograph caption dated December 16, 1926 reads "E. L. Doheny, noted Los Angeles oil millionaire, and Albert B. Fall, former secretary of the Interior, were acquitted today by the 'young men's jury,' of charges of conspiracy to defraud the government in connection with Elk Hills oil reserve leases. Most of the Washington jurors are young enough to be grandsons of the elderly defendants."; Second photograph caption dated February 5, 1929 reads "Reports say Edward L. Doheny of Los Angeles owns a block of stock and will cast his votes for Colonel Stewart."; Third photograph caption dated February 18, 1929 reads "Edward L. Doheny, famous 72-year-old oil millionaire, above, is prostrated with grief today over murder of his son, Edward L. Doheny Jr., to whom his life was devoted. The son was killed by Theodore J. Plunkett, his secretary."; Fourth photograph caption dated September 9, 1935 reads "Funeral rites for Edward L. Doheny, above, greatest of the California oil magnates, will be held Wednesday morning in St. Vincent's church, which he built. Mr. Doheny died last night in his palace in Chester Place, after a long illness."
Type
image
Format
1 photographic print :b&w ;18 x 13 cm. on 21 x13 cm. board. Photographic prints
Doheny, Edward L.--(Edward Laurence),--1856-1935 Doheny, Edward L.--(Edward Laurence),--1856-1935--Trials, litigation, etc Industrialists--United States Businessmen--United States Philanthropists--United States Men--California--Los Angeles Portrait photographs Herald-Examiner Collection photographs
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