Edward Corliss Kilbourne was born in St. Johnsbury on this day in 1856. His father helped pioneer dentistry, and Kilbourne took up the trade.

Kilbourne first moved to Colorado due to ill health, but his Uncle, Mayor Corliss Stone of Seattle, sent him a letter saying that the climate of Puget Sound was invigorating. Kilbourne moved to Seattle, and it would forever change the landscape.

He became an advocate for electricity, revolutionizing people’s lives. Kilbourne built an electric trolley from Seattle to Lake Union and built most of Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood.

Kilbourne became a philanthropist in old age, and lived to be 103.

Photo courtesy The Seattle Times.