German-born railroad engineer Albert Fink (1827-1897), became known as the father of railway economics and statistics through his work with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and the Louisville and Nashville Railroad where he published information regarding the real cost of transportation. He standardized freight rates during a time of confusion and brought organization to the railway industry.

Albert Fink was born on October 27, 1827 in Lauterbach Germany, a town located in the Grand Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt. He was the son of architect Andres S. Fink and Margaret (Jacob) Fink. The young Fink received his education at the Polytechnic School at Darmstadt, and graduated with honors in engineering and architecture in 1848.

Fink had little sympathy with the German government that emerged after the revolution of 1848 and, in the following year, he emigrated to the United States. That same year he began work in the drafting office of Benjamin H. Latrobe...