Charles Francis Adams

(1835–1915), son of the first Charles Francis Adams, was a historian and a railroad expert. Adams was born in Boston. After graduation from Harvard in 1856 he studied law in the office of Richard Henry Dana and Francis E. Parker. During the Civil War he served in the Union army, rising to the rank of brevet brigadier general.

After the war, Adams studied railroad development and operations. He was named to the Massachusetts Board of Railroad Commissioners in 1869, serving as chairman 1872–79. He wrote Chapters of Erie and Other Essays (1871), exposing corruption in railroad finance. Adams was chairman of the government directors of the Union Pacific Railroad, 1878–84, and president of the railroad, 1884–90.

His numerous writings include: Railroads: Their Origin and Problems, (1878); Richard Henry Dana (1890); Three Episodes in Massachusetts History (1892); Life of Charles Francis Adams (1900).