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TheMostFamousHoteliersofAllTimeVol.2
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TheseeventshadasevereimpactonGeorgePullman’shealth,whodiedof
amassiveheartattackonOctober19,1897.Fearingthathisbodywouldbedefiledby
laboractivists,hisfamilyburiedhimatnightatGracelandCemetery.Hisbodywaslaid
intoaleadcoffinandthenputinatombmadeofreinforcedconcretefilledwithcement,
AfterGeorgePullman’sdeath,havinginvestigatedthereasonsforthestrike,theIlli-
noisSupremeCourtorderedin1898thatthePullmanCompanywaivedownershipof
thecityandthatthecitybecamepartofChicago.Bythisjudgment,thecityresidents
wereallowedthepossibilitytobuytheirhomes.Thecourtdecisionwasenforcedby
anewlyappointedPresidentRobertToddLincoln(sonofPresidentAbrahamLincoln),
whomanagedthecompanyuntil1911,leadingitintoaneweraofrailroadcars,which
CompanymergedwiththeStandardSteelCarCompanyandchangeditsnameto
thePullman-StandardCarManufacturingCompany,whichmanufactureditslastcar
Pullman-modelledhotelcarsappearedalsoontheEuropeancontinent.Thiswas
owingtoaBelgiannamedGeorgesNagelmackers(1845–1905),whointheyears
1867–1868traveledfarandwideintheUnitedStatesandwashighlyimpressedby
Pullman’scars.Uponhisreturnhome,hedecidedtocreateanetworkofsimilarluxury
trainsthatwouldrunacrosstheentireEurope.In1867,bebroughttolifeacompany
namedCompagnieInternationaledesWagons-Lits,whichbecametheleadingtrain
operatorinthecourseofafewyearswithfamoustrainssuchastheOrient-Express
(Paris-Istanbul),theNordExpress(Paris-St.Petersburg),theSudExpress(Paris-
Lisbon)ortheTrans-SiberianExpressinRussia.Wagons-Litsalsocreateditsown
hotelchains,oneofwhichwasnamedthePullmanHotelsafterGeorgePullman.When
in1991thecompanybecamepartoftheAccorcorporation,aspartofarebranding
strategy,thishotelbrandwasgraduallyeliminated.Oncemodernized,thetwenty-seven
PullmanestablishmentswereincludedintheSofitelchain,whereasothertwenty-five
toreactivatethePullmanbrand,stating,“ThePullmannameenjoysaheritagethatis
closelyassociatedwithtravelandthenewbrandwilltargetprimarilybusinesstrav-
elers.ThePullmanhotelswillbelocatedintheworld’smajorcitiesandwillofferall
