GEORGE PULLMAN (1831-1897). Pullman, an industrialist and inventor, in 1858 convinced a railroad to allow him to try sleeping cars that he constructed, but they railroads refused to pay for the added convenience. Several years later, he patented an improved version, which were reluctantly accepted by the railroads since they had to raise every bridge and narrow many platforms. He founded the Pullman's Palace Car Company in 1867, and quickly became the world's largest railroad manufacturer. He repeatedly made improvements to the car and even designed a small town for his workers to live. He was broken by the infamous Pullman strike of 1894 and died a few years later.