His pursuit of conducting was aided by a two-year scholarship in Aberdeen, which led him to study with eminent German conductor Hermann Scherchen.

BBC: Conductor dies in aided suicide

Edwin Drake had no obvious qualifications to run the Seneca Oil Company except for two: as a retired railroad conductor, he could travel by train with a free pass, and--in what is required for the head of any start-up--he was very persistent by nature, indeed downright stubborn.

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