Charles F. Mayer

Charles Frederick Mayer (November 30, 1826 – February 24, 1904) was an American rail executive and businessman from Baltimore, Maryland, who served as the 10th president of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) from 1889 to 1896.

Early life Born on November 20, 1826, to a well-known family, Charles Frederick Mayer was the sixth child of Lewis Mayer, a lawyer, and Lewis' cousin and wife, Susan Mayer. His uncle and namesake, Charles F. Mayer, was a Maryland state senator, prominent figure in Baltimore, and a founder of a predecessor line of the Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore Railroad. Showing "uncommon aptitude for commercial life", as a later biographer wrote, Mayer was dispatched to the west coast of South America on a trading voyage of two years, before returning to Baltimore. On December 4, 1866, Mayer married his cousin, Susan Keim, who was the daughter of Congressman George M. Keim. He recruited young engineer Samuel Rea to design the line, Mayer also succeeded in separating the railroad from partial political control by the City of Baltimore and the State of Maryland, convincing them to sell their stock in the company in 1890.