Kate Shelley

About

15 year-old who saved a passenger train from certain doom, thus becoming a hero of the nation.

Before Fame

Witnessing a pusher train careen off the track during a raging storm, she crawled across an unlit bridge to warn an incoming train of the danger and helped to organize rescue.

Trivia

Her heroics were described in newspapers all over the midwest, and got her family a sizable reward from the state.

Family Life

She was born in County Offaly, Ireland and moved to the United States when she was an infant.

Associated With

Like Jim Bowie, she became a folk hero in her home state.