CITIES: The Driver

Born in a dugout home on a Texas tenant farm, Robert Lee (Bob) Thornton chopped brush, plowed with mules, slept in piles of cotton hulls, saved his money, went to Dallas, got a job as a bookkeeper with a firm that folded, got into the textbook business and went broke, started a "jitney loan" business which grew into the Mercantile National Bank. He grew rich and he grew old, but he refused to relax. ("You can't do a damned thing in a rocking chair—lots of action but no progress!") He lived for

Dallas, promoted the Texas Centennial Exposition, is still...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!