Founder Profile
Hiram Sibley
Last reviewed: October 2026 · By Swet Parvadiya
Who is Hiram Sibley?
Hiram Sibley is a founder of The Western Union Company, which was founded in 1851 with Ezra Cornell, Samuel Selden and Jeptha Wade.
- Company founded
- The Western Union Company
- Founded
- 1851
- Co-founders
- Ezra Cornell, Samuel Selden and Jeptha Wade
Background
Rochester, New York businessman who organized telegraph investors in the early 1850s.
Founding Story
Hiram Sibley helped organize the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company in 1851. He led the consolidation that produced Western Union in 1856 and became its first president. He also backed construction of the transcontinental telegraph line, completed in 1861.