Edward L. Doheny
#256464 Most Popular
About
Oil tycoon who developed the Los Angeles City Oil Field, beginning the Southern California oil boom of the early 1900s.
Before Fame
He worked for the U.S. Geological Survey, looking at lands in Kansas, and then did his own prospecting with little success in South Dakota and the Western territories.
Trivia
He acquired a sizable fortune during the oil boom in Los Angeles, and he became a notable philanthropist, giving up his 22-room mansion to Mount St. Mary's College.
Family Life
He was born in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, his father Patrick Doheny, an immigrant from Ireland during the Great Famine.
Associated With
He was one of the inspirations for Upton Sinclair's novel Oil!, which in turn inspired the film There Will Be Blood from 2007.
