Founder Profile
Samuel Selden
Last reviewed: October 2026 · By Swet Parvadiya
Who is Samuel Selden?
Samuel Selden is a founder of The Western Union Company, which was founded in 1851 with Hiram Sibley, Ezra Cornell and Jeptha Wade.
- Company founded
- The Western Union Company
- Founded
- 1851
- Co-founders
- Hiram Sibley, Ezra Cornell and Jeptha Wade
Background
American businessman and judge.
Founding Story
Samuel Selden co-founded the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company in 1851 alongside Hiram Sibley (this company was later renamed Western Union). Selden held the absolute critical patent rights to the House printing telegraph, providing the foundational legal and technological monopoly that allowed the company to rapidly consolidate the incredibly fragmented early telegraph industry.
Samuel Selden was born in 1800 in Lyme.