Rufus T. Bush

Rufus Ter Bush (February 22, 1840 – September 15, 1890) was an American businessman, industrialist, and yachtsman. His notable testimony against Standard Oil's monopolistic practices through railroad rebates left a lasting impression, while the 1887 transatlantic ocean race of his sailing yacht Coronet and his subsequent circumnavigation on the same yacht evoked much interest in the national press.

Bush and his son Irving T. Bush are descended from Jan Bosch, a native of the Netherlands, who immigrated to New Amsterdam, now New York, in 1662.

Early life Rufus Ter Bush was born in Tompkins County, New York. He grew up on his father's farm, then moved to Michigan in 1851. After graduating from Lansing High School, and spending two years at the State Agricultural College (now Michigan State University) and graduating in 1861 from the Michigan State Normal School (now Eastern Michigan University) in Ypsilanti, he and his wife were schoolteachers for two years. He briefly moved to Toronto, Ontario, Canada for the manufacture of machines before moving to New York City. He greatly profited by procuring the names and addresses of ministers around the United States and direct-mailing their congregations to sell wire laundry line. The refinery was destroyed by fire in 1881 and rebuilt in Bay Ridge.

As co-owner of a smaller refinery, Bush publicly testified in 1879 against Standard Oil's practice of railroad rebates, stating that, "All the profit that the Standard Oil got, they out of the railroad in the form of rebates." Academic historians recently described Bush's testimony as notable for its "quotable accusations" that subsequently became a "cliché permanently included" in histories of Standard Oil. Muckraker Ida Tarbell published verbatim Bush's testimony concerning Standard Oil's hold over railroad lines and the effects of these discriminatory practices in her landmark book The History of the Standard Oil Company in 1904.

In spite of Bush's attacks, Bush & Denslow's Brooklyn refinery was sold to Standard Oil during the 1880s, allowing Bush to retire a very wealthy man. Standard Oil then dismantled it,

After winning the 3,000-mile race and the $10,000 purse, Bush decided to sell the Coronet and listed the vessel in England for $30,000 . Rufus and his family (including his son Irving T. Bush) then circumnavigated the globe on the Coronet in 1888, stopping in Hawaii, Japan, India, and elsewhere. The Coronet was sold before Rufus's death in 1890. He left an estate estimated at $2,000,000 to his wife and two sons. The family quickly incorporated under the name The Bush Co. Bush Tower-04.jpg|Bush Tower, a pioneering skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, designated on the National Register of Historic Places and as a New York City Landmark Bush House, Aldwych (geograph 4238525).jpg|Bush House, originally an international trade center, and at the time of its construction the most expensive building in the world