William F. Nast buried at Calvary Cemetery in St. Louis. William F. Nast William Frederick Nast (1840–1893) was an American diplomat and entrepreneur. He was the third president of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. Nast was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on June 14, 1840, the son of Methodist religious leader William Nast. From 1861 to 1865 he served at the American Consulate in Stuttgart, Germany. Upon his return to the United States, Nast entered the brokerage business in New York, New York. On September 2, 1868, Nast became president of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, a position he held
Thomas Nast since 1856. In the words of the artist's grandson, Thomas Nast St Hill, "it was generally conceded that Nast's support won Cleveland the small margin by which he was elected. In this his last national political campaign, Nast had, in fact, 'made a president'." Nast's tenure at "Harper's Weekly" ended with his Christmas illustration of December 1886. It was said by the journalist Henry Watterson that "in quitting "Harper's Weekly", Nast lost his forum: in losing him, "Harper's Weekly" lost its political importance." Fiona Deans Halloran says "the former is true to a certain extent, the latter unlikely." Nast lost