Cases when you can meet full namesakes in the circle of successful, popular and famous people are rare. But under the name of Buchanan James, several prominent people are known, one of whom made a huge contribution to the development of the modern economy. The owner of the same name was also a successful American businessman who owns a large tobacco business, and the President of the United States. In this article, we will look at the biographies of all the outstanding James Buchanans, as well as learn about the merits that made them so famous.
From Nobel laureate and XV President of the United States to fictional comic book character
Today, several Americans are known whose names contain such a combination - James Buchanan. These are people who are not connected in any way with professional activities. One of them is the world's strongest businessman and industrialist of the 19th century, who made billions in the tobacco industry. Second -Nobel Prize-winning economist James Buchanan, whose public choice theory is still used by economists and political scientists around the world.
The XV President of the United States bore the same name as the two previous heroes of our article. Alas, it cannot be said that he went down in history thanks to some special merits, but this Buchanan also distinguished himself in some way - the consensus of American historians called him the worst president in the entire long history of the United States.
The list of famous owners of this name includes one more hero, however, this time a fictional one. They became the character of one of the comics of the Marvel Cinematic Universe - a soldier named James Buchanan (Bucky Barnes). It would seem that in the 21st century the viewer could see such a huge number of movie heroes that nothing could surprise him. But with Bucky Barnes it was different. Marvel fans are known for their devotion to the company's comics and fanatical love for its fictional characters. Here is their Buchanan James, once becoming part of the plot of the comic, as if he came to life and became a real person. The character came out so realistic that on the Internet, loyal fans of the film company post his biography, dedicate poems to him and comment on all the on-screen actions of this hero.
In our article, we will look at short biographies of all the famous James Buchanans, as well as indicate the achievements that made them go down in history. Marvel's fictional biography of the life of Bucky Barnes, we, for the sake of justice and for his loyal fans, alsoreview briefly at the end of our article.
Great economist and Nobel laureate
The first of the Buchanans, whose biography we will consider, will be a man whose full name is James McGill Buchanan Jr.
He was born in 1919, in one of the American states called Tennessee. The future Nobel laureate received his first education at the local pedagogical college. The young man received his higher education (master's degree) at the University of Tennessee, successfully graduating from its economics department. After graduation, he was almost immediately drafted into the army. After completing basic military training at the Naval Academy, he served in Guam, as well as in the headquarters of the fleet at Pearl Harbor.
James McGill Buchanan received his doctorate in economics after the war, in 1948, at the University of Chicago. For a long time he pursued a successful teaching career, lecturing at the University of Virginia, as well as at the most prestigious universities in Tennessee and Florida.
In 1969, he becomes the first ever director of the Center for the Study of Public Choice. He also served as president of the Western and Southern Economic Associations and served as honorary vice president of the American Economic Association. Buchanan's academic papers included material on public debt, reciprocal favors, libertarian theory, the voting process, and macroeconomics.
A work that brought recognition in global political economy
James Buchanan –economist whose work is taken as the basis of modern political science and economics. He became the founder of the Virginia School of Political Economy. His work has become a kind of catalyst for further research, confirming that various non-economic forces and the personal interests of individual politicians have a direct impact on the economic policy of each country.
James Buchanan's public choice theory allowed its author to win a Nobel Prize. This man lived a long enough life, he died in January 2013. Today, his name is familiar to every political scientist and economist, and dozens of his scientific works are actively used in the study of the theory and practice of making political and economic decisions.
Tobacco magnate and father of the modern cigarette
The full name of the person whose brief biography we will look at next is James Buchanan Duke. He was born in North Carolina in December 1856. He is called the father of the modern cigarette, and for good reason.
In the 1880s, he and his brother began running a tobacco company founded by their father, Washington Duke. In the beginning, their factory was just a small niche in the tobacco business. But two years later, James saw new perspectives. If earlier all cigarettes were rolled by workers manually, now, with the advent of an automatic cigarette production machine, the process could be accelerated many times over. And young Duke did everything to get this car.
He acquiredlicense for the world's first machine to automate the process of making cigarettes, invented by mechanic James Bonsack. Factory production has reached a new level. The machine carefully rolled one, endless cigarette, and the knives, which rotated at the same distance, cut it into many small ones. The ends, which were previously twisted by hand by workers to keep the tobacco from drying out, were now impregnated with special chemicals for the same purpose. Also, to improve the taste, new cigarettes were soaked in molasses, glycerin or sugar.
The number of cigarettes produced has increased at an incredible rate. If earlier at the James factory, workers could produce a maximum of 200 cigarettes per shift, now, the machine easily produced 120 thousand units per shift! James Buchanan Duke faced a new problem - marketing. The volumes that his modernized factory produced were 1/5 of what all of America smoked at that time. And Duke got into aggressive marketing. He was a sponsor at all kinds of events, gave away his cigarettes for free at various competitions, and also came up with the idea of investing collectible cards in packs. He teams up with his main American competitor and creates his own monopoly - the American Tobacco Company.
In 1889 alone, he spent 800 thousand dollars on advertising. People liked his cigarettes, they said that it was he who taught America to smoke Camel. But huge production volumes continued to demand new, huge markets.
Divisionsales market for tobacco products
In the early 1890s, he was desperately trying to break into the British market, but there he was waiting for experienced industrialists who were not going to give up. Under the threat of Duke's invasion of their space, they consolidated into a single corporation, which after some time tried to invade James' American market itself. Through negotiations, a compromise was reached that satisfied all parties.
During this difficult period for James Buchanan, his business partners filed endless lawsuits against him. Eventually, in 1911, the American Tobacco Company's monopoly ended. According to the court decision, the company was divided into several small firms, and only one of them remained under the control of James.
James' Energy Achievements
At the beginning of the 20th century, Buchanan Duke founded several small energy companies, which in the future became the basis for the creation of Duke Energy Corporation. In addition to providing electricity for Duke's textile mills (which he also ran quite successfully), this corporation provided electric light to many cities in South and North Carolina. On the territory of the latter, a reservoir was created in 1928, which provides the entire district with electricity. Over time, he was named after James Buchanan Duke.
Not only the builder of a tobacco empire, but also a patron of the university
History remembers this man not only as the father of the modern cigarette. With billions in capital, in 1924 James decided to create his own$40 million trust fund.
The patron donated most of these funds to Durham University, now known as Duke University.
James Buchanan: a biography to be ashamed of
The name of this Buchanan will not be forgotten soon, because he did a lot to ensure that the bright memory of him lived for centuries after his death. Duke bequeathed most of his legacy to charity: maintaining and developing Duke University, as well as educational institutions such as D. Smith University, Davidson College and Furman University. In addition, he bequeathed part of the money to a number of non-profit hospitals and orphanages located in North and South Carolina.
His world famous daughter - Doris Duke - inherited all the remaining property and money of her father. In memory of him, on the territory of Duke Farmes, she created an amazing winter garden, which housed a chic collection of sculptures. Doris called all this beauty Duke Gardens.
One of the worst presidents in US history
Another man named James Buchanan left his mark on the history of the United States - the XV President of America. His value as head of state is still considered highly controversial. Some historians boldly call him the worst of all US presidents, accusing him of passivity and indecision. The main argument against Buchanan is that his government predated the division of the States into North and South and the ensuing violent Civil War.
Others believe that the opinion about the rule of this president should not be so categorical. Do not forget that he had to govern the country in one of its most difficult periods. In the second half of the 19th century, the problem of slavery was very acute in America. The confrontation between the South and the North could not be stopped, and the course of events of history could no longer be changed, so it can be said that Buchanan, even as president, was, by and large, powerless.
The future XV President of America was born in April 1791 in Pennsylvania, in a fairly poor family with many children. Despite this, the young man managed to get a law degree. He got his first professional experience working as a lawyer during the Anglo-American War.
In 1814-1816 in his home state of Pennsylvania, he becomes an MP. In 1831 he was appointed envoy to the St. Petersburg House. And there he quite successfully signs the first trade agreement between America and Russia. He then served as Senator and Minister of Foreign Affairs.
In 1856, the Democratic Party nominated him for the presidency. At that time, a difficult situation developed in the state of Kansas - there were two warring governments (supporters and opponents of slavery) functioning there. The state was waiting for a new president and his decision regarding the fate of Kansas. Not wanting to aggravate an already difficult situation, James Buchanan decided to attribute Kansas to the slave states. Then there was an uprising of slaves, which the US government severely suppressed. And suppressionthis rebellion caused more division and confrontation between North and South.
Political scientists and historians say that his successor, A. Lincoln, President Buchanan left the country in a terrible state, on the brink of civil war between two irreconcilable camps. Buchanan died in 1868, having managed to write an essay justifying his policy before his death. But it did not help him much, because in history he remained the worst president of the United States.
Another Marvel character named James
And the last famous Buchanan James, whose biography we will consider in our article, at first glance, does not fit the company of previous heroes at all. He is just a fictional character whose biography was successfully invented by the Marvel writers. But it is worth noting that it was invented so successfully that comic book fans around the world are looking for this biography and are really interested in the details of the life of this fictional character. The audience first saw this character in 2010, when The First Avenger was released on the wide screen.
So, according to Marvel legend, James Buchanan Barnes (the actor who brought his image to life on the screen - Sebastian Stan) was born back in 1917. He showed good results in various sports fields, was a leader in his class. One day, James noticed how hooligans were beating a weak boy, and stood up for him. This boy turned out to be Steve Rogers, who later became the legendary Captain America. After the incident, the guys became very good friends. WithAt the start of World War II, James Buchanan (Bucky) Barnes was drafted into the army, underwent winter training at Camp McCoy and was sent to the Italian front.
A Winter Soldier named Buchanan
Then he was captured by the "Hydra" detachment and was taken prisoner, where he suffered a lot of bullying, torture and was in isolation for a long time. His childhood friend, who has already managed to become Captain America during the war, learns about this captivity. He rushes to save James and still frees him from captivity. James Buchanan (Bucky) joins the team of a friend who freed him, and their common goal is to wipe out the Hydra from the face of the earth. During one of the brawls, James Buchanan Barnes fell off the train, his body was not found, and everyone thought he was dead.
In fact, Buchanan's body was found by one of the Hydra units. His memory was completely erased, and for a long time all kinds of experiments were carried out on the body of James. For several years he was put into an artificial sleep, occasionally being awakened when it was necessary to carry out an order to kill some influential leader.
According to one of Hydra's decrees, Buchanan had to kill Captain America, and for him it was absolutely no problem, because his memory, which kept memories of childhood friendship, had long been erased. During this task, at the moment of direct confrontation between Captain America and his friend, James began to flash his memory back, and both friends remainedalive. But James Buchanan, now known as the Winter Soldier, disappeared again after that.
