George Hearst (September 3, 1820 â€" February 28, 1891) was an
American businessman, miner, and politician. After growing up on a
small farm in Missouri, he founded many mining operations, and is
known for developing and expanding the Homestake Mine in the late
1870s in the Black Hills of South Dakota. In 1879 he listed it on the
New York Stock Exchange, and went on to other pursuits. The mine
operated continuously, producing gold until 2001.After settling in San
Francisco in the early 1860s, Hearst became a politician, first
representing San Francisco in the state legislature for one term. He
also maintained mining interests through his company. Hearst was
appointed as a United States Senator in 1886 to fill a vacancy and was
elected as a Democrat later that year on his own account. He served in
the Senate from 1887 to his death in 1891. His only child from his
late marriage (at age 40) was his son William Randolph Hearst, who
became internationally known as a newspaperman and publisher, and was
a primary inspiration for Orson Welles' 1941 film Citizen Kane.Hearst
was born near present-day Sullivan, Missouri, to William G. Hearst and
Elizabeth Collins, who were of Scots-Irish ancestry. Hearst, one of
three children â€" two boys and a girl â€" was raised in a log cabin
on his family's farm in rural Franklin County. His father operated
three small farms, all of which were mortgaged, and depended on
African-American slaves. William Hearst sold his products in his own
local general store.George Hearst grew up before public education was
widely available in Missouri, meaning his elementary education was
inconsistent and fragmented. Becoming interested in mining, Hearst
supplemented the gaps in his formal education by observing the local
mines, reading information about minerals from books owned by his
family doctor, Silas Reed, and mining in his free time. George Hearst Biography, NetWorth, Height, Age, Weight, Family, Married, Son, Daughter