John George Brill

Who was John George Brill?

John George Brill was a co-founder of J. G. Brill and Company, which, at its height, was the largest manufacturer of streetcars and interurban cars in the United States.

In 1847, at the age of 30, he emigrated with his wife and two children from Germany to Philadelphia. For twenty years, he worked for Murphy and Allison. In 1868, with his son George Martin Brill, he founded the firm J. G. Brill & Son, which, in 1887, became J. G. Brill and Company.