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William Vincent Astor (November 15, 1891 – February 3, 1959) was an American businessman, philanthropist, and member of the prominent
Astor family The Astor family achieved prominence in business, society, and politics in the United States and the United Kingdom during the 19th and 20th centuries. With ancestral roots in the Italian Alps region of Italy by way of Germany, the Astors settled ...
.


Early life

Called Vincent, he was born in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
on November 15, 1891. Astor was the elder child of
John Jacob Astor IV John Jacob Astor IV (July 13, 1864 – April 15, 1912) was an American business magnate, real estate developer, investor, writer, lieutenant colonel in the Spanish–American War, and a prominent member of the Astor family. He died in the sink ...
, a wealthy businessman and inventor, and his first wife,
Ava Lowle Willing Ava Lowle Willing (September 15, 1868 – June 9, 1958) was an American socialite. She was the first wife of Colonel John Jacob Astor IV and later married Thomas Lister, 4th Baron Ribblesdale. Early life Ava Lowle Willing was born on September ...
, an heiress from
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
. He graduated in 1910 from St. George's School in
Middletown, Rhode Island Middletown is a town in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 17,075 at the 2020 census. It lies to the south of Portsmouth and to the north of Newport on Aquidneck Island, hence the name "Middletown". History Vario ...
, and attended
Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher ...
from 1911 to 1912, leaving school without graduating. In 1912 Vincent Astor's father, John Jacob Astor IV died on the Titanic and left him the biggest fortune at that time and made Vincent Astor one of the richest people in the world.


Interests

Like his father, Astor belonged to the New York
Society of Colonial Wars The Society of Colonial Wars is a hereditary society composed of men who trace their descents from forebears who, in military, naval, or civil positions of high trust and responsibility, by acts or counsel, assisted in the establishment, defense ...
. He served as commodore of the
New York Yacht Club The New York Yacht Club (NYYC) is a private social club and yacht club based in New York City and Newport, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1844 by nine prominent sportsmen. The members have contributed to the sport of yachting and yacht design. ...
from 1928 to 1930. Astor was interested in trains. In the early 1930s, he established an estate in
Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , es ...
which included a private
narrow-gauge railway A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller struct ...
and
union station A union station (also known as a union terminal, a joint station in Europe, and a joint-use station in Japan) is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway companies, allowing passengers to ...
with the
Bermuda Railway The Bermuda Railway was a common carrier line that operated in Bermuda for a brief period (October 31, 1931 – May 1, 1948). In its 17 years of existence, the railway provided frequent passenger and freight service over its length spann ...
. The estate is now divided among several private owners, none of whom are part of the Astor family. As recently as 1992, the remains of some of his
rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles ca ...
were visible.


Philanthropy

Vincent Astor was, according to family biographer Derek Wilson, "a hitherto unknown phenomenon in America: an Astor with a highly developed social conscience." He was 20 when his father died in the sinking of the ocean liner ''
Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, Unite ...
'' and, having inherited a massive fortune, he dropped out of
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...
. He set out to change the family's image from that of miserly, aloof slum landlords who enjoyed the good life at the expense of others. Over time, he sold off the family's New York City slum housing and reinvested in reputable enterprises, while spending a great deal of time and energy helping others. He was responsible for the construction of a large housing complex in the
Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
that included sufficient land for a large children's playground, and in
Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...
, he transformed a valuable piece of real estate into another playground for children. Astor appeared at No. 12 on the first list of America's richest people, compiled by ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
'' magazine. His net worth at the time was estimated at $75 million. Among his holdings was ''
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
'' magazine, and he was its chairman. The magazine had for a time its headquarters in the former Knickerbocker Hotel, which had been built by his father. He also inherited Ferncliff, the Astor family's estate in
Rhinebeck, New York Rhinebeck is a village in the town of Rhinebeck in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 2,657 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie– Newburgh– Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well ...
, where his father had been born. However, Vincent Astor would be the last Astor family member to own the estate as well as the final Astor to occupy the "Ferncliff Casino", a
Stanford White Stanford White (November 9, 1853 – June 25, 1906) was an American architect. He was also a partner in the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White, one of the most significant Beaux-Arts firms. He designed many houses for the rich, in addition ...
-designed 1904
Beaux-Arts style Beaux-Arts architecture ( , ) was the academic architectural style taught at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, particularly from the 1830s to the end of the 19th century. It drew upon the principles of French neoclassicism, but also incorporat ...
building, which was inspired by the
Grand Trianon The Grand Trianon () is a French Baroque style château situated in the northwestern part of the Domain of Versailles in Versailles, France. It was built at the request of King Louis XIV of France as a retreat for himself and his '' maîtresse- ...
at
Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...
. On his death in 1959, Astor bequeathed a main house at Ferncliff to the Benedictine Hospital in
Kingston, New York Kingston is a city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, United States. It is north of New York City and south of Albany. The city's metropolitan area is grouped with the New York metropolitan area around Manhattan by the Unite ...
. His widow, Brooke, later donated the "Ferncliff Casino" to the Catholic Archdiocese of New York and sold off many parcels of the estate. In 1963, Homer Staley, a retired businessman in the area, asked Brooke Astor to preserve the remaining natural acreage of
woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...
s from development. She donated the woodlands to the Rotary Club of Rhinebeck, and the land became the Ferncliff Forest Game Refuge and Forest Preserve.


The Sinclair-Astor Letters

Upton Sinclair Upton Beall Sinclair Jr. (September 20, 1878 – November 25, 1968) was an American writer, muckraker, political activist and the 1934 Democratic Party nominee for governor of California who wrote nearly 100 books and other works in sever ...
, author of
The Jungle ''The Jungle'' is a 1906 novel by the American journalist and novelist Upton Sinclair. Sinclair's primary purpose in describing the meat industry and its working conditions was to advance socialism in the United States. However, most readers we ...
, wrote Astor an open letter, which he describes in
The Brass Check ''The Brass Check'' is a muckraking exposé of American journalism by Upton Sinclair published in 1919. It focuses mainly on newspapers and the Associated Press wire service, along with a few magazines. Other critiques of the press had appeared ...
and he also sent to over half a dozen newspapers, requesting that he support the Socialist cause and help the poor, at a time when Sinclair claims Astor was erecting a million dollar estate, without benefiting the rest of society; the only newspaper to publish his letter was a Socialist newspaper, the
New York Call The ''New York Call'' was a socialism, socialist daily newspaper published in New York City from 1908 through 1923. The ''Call'' was the second of three English-language dailies affiliated with the Socialist Party of America, following the ''Chica ...
. Vincent Astor replied to this letter, and also sent a copy out to over half a dozen newspapers, and according to Sinclair, all of them published his reply in full, including The New York Call. Sinclair claimed this was what he considered a scientific demonstration of bias of the media in favor of the wealthy because they gave Astor complete coverage, often on the front page, and, except for The Call, they declined to publish his first letter, and only three of the traditional newspapers published a small portion of his reply to Astor's letter, without featuring it as prominently.


Marriages

Astor married
Helen Dinsmore Huntington Helen Dinsmore Huntington Astor Hull (April 9, 1893 – December 11, 1976) was an American socialite, arts patron, and political hostess. Early life Helen Dinsmore Huntington was born on April 9, 1893, to Helen Gray Dinsmore (1868–1942) and ...
on April 30, 1914. At the ceremony, he was stricken with the
mumps MUMPS ("Massachusetts General Hospital Utility Multi-Programming System"), or M, is an imperative, high-level programming language with an integrated transaction processing key–value database. It was originally developed at Massachusetts Gene ...
, a disease that made him sterile; as for the bride, her friend Glenway Wescott, the novelist, admiringly described her in his unpublished diaries as "a grand, old-fashioned lesbian." The couple divorced in 1940. A year later, Helen became the second wife of Lytle Hull (1882–1958), a real-estate broker who was a friend and business associate of her former husband. Shortly after his divorce, Astor married
Mary Benedict Cushing Mary Benedict "Minnie" Cushing (January 27, 1906 – November 6, 1978) was an American socialite, philanthropist and art collector. Early life Mary Benedict Cushing was the eldest daughter of Harvey Williams Cushing (1869–1939) and his wife Kat ...
, the eldest daughter of Dr.
Harvey Williams Cushing Harvey Williams Cushing (April 8, 1869 – October 7, 1939) was an American neurosurgeon, pathologist, writer, and draftsman. A pioneer of brain surgery, he was the first exclusive neurosurgeon and the first person to describe Cushing's disease ...
and Katharine Stone Crowell. Mary's sisters were Betsey Maria Cushing and Barbara "Babe" Cushing. They divorced in September 1953, and the following month, Mary wed James Whitney Fosburgh, a painter who worked as an art lecturer at the
Frick Museum The Frick Collection is an art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection (normally at the Henry Clay Frick House, currently at the Frick Madison) features Old Master paintings and European fine and decorative arts, including works by ...
. On October 8, 1953, several weeks after divorcing his second wife, Astor married the once-divorced, once-widowed Roberta Brooke Russell. According to an often-told story in society circles, Astor agreed to divorce his second wife only after she had found him a replacement spouse. Her first suggestion was Janet Newbold Ryan Stewart Bush, the newly divorced wife of James Smith Bush II (brother of
Prescott Bush Prescott Sheldon Bush (May 15, 1895 – October 8, 1972) was an American banker as a Wall Street executive investment banker, he represented Connecticut in the from 1952 of the Bush family, he was the father of former Vice President and Pr ...
), who turned Astor down with startling candor, saying, "I don't even like you." Astor proceeded to tell her that he was not well and, though only in his early 60s, he could not be expected to live for very long, whereupon she would inherit his millions. At that, Janet Bush reportedly replied, "What if you do live?" Mary Cushing then proposed Brooke. Together, Vincent and Brooke developed the Vincent Astor Foundation, a foundation that was designed to give back to
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. Brooke died in 2007 at the age of 105.


Wartime service in the United States Navy


World War I

Astor joined the Naval Reserve shortly after it was founded and was commissioned as an ensign on December 28, 1915. He was called to active duty as part of the New York Naval Militia in February 1917 by order of Governor Charles S. Whitman to help guard bridges and aqueducts against possible German sabotage. Astor was assigned to help guard the
Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
and
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
bridges. Following the declaration of war against Germany, Astor took advice from his friend and future president
Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
and volunteered for active duty with the Navy on April 7, 1917. He went overseas on June 9 on the USS ''Noma'' (Astor's own yacht which had been acquired as a patrol ship by the Navy). He was later assigned to the armed yacht USS ''Aphrodite''. He was promoted to lieutenant (junior grade) on January 1, 1918, and to lieutenant on July 1, 1918. He was joined in France by his wife, who did charity work with the
YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...
at the naval base in Bordeaux, while he served as Port Officer at Royan. His last assignment was as an officer on the captured German minelaying submarine ''U-117'' during her voyage to the United States. Astor returned to the United States on the ''U-117'' on April 25, 1919, and was discharged on May 24. After the war, Astor became a companion of the
Naval Order of the United States The Naval Order of the United States was established in 1890 as a hereditary organization in the United States for members of the American sea services. Its primary mission is to encourage research and writing on naval and maritime subjects and pr ...
.


World War II

In the quiet before the war, Astor sailed the '' Nourmahal'' in 1938 to Japan on a secret civilian mission for President Franklin D. Roosevelt to gather intelligence on the Japanese naval operations around the
Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Inte ...
in the Pacific Ocean. As he had done with the ''Noma'' in the First World War, he lent his yacht '' Nourmahal'' to the Coast Guard for service in the Second World War. In
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, Astor again served on active duty with the Navy. He was called to active duty with the rank of commander and given assignment as Area Controller for New York. In this position he coordinated merchant convoys leaving the city and provided informal intelligence work for President Roosevelt. Perhaps Astor's longer lasting contributions were his weekly reports from the
Chase Bank JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., doing business as Chase Bank or often as Chase, is an American national bank headquartered in New York City, that constitutes the consumer and commercial banking subsidiary of the U.S. multinational banking and fin ...
, where his inside access included
USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nati ...
account balances. On December 13, 1940, Astor began reporting to the
US Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and ...
the Soviet weekly balances in an unbroken sequence (made by occasional substitutes) up through at least 1945. During the early months of 1942, Astor suggested equipping fishing boats with radios so they could report U-boat sightings. One boat so equipped was
Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century f ...
's fishing yacht '' Pilar''. In June 1943, he was promoted to the rank of captain (with date of rank June 18, 1942). For his service in the Navy, Captain Astor was awarded the
Navy Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fifth ...
,
Naval Reserve Medal The Naval Reserve Medal is a decoration of the United States Navy which was created by order of Secretary of the Navy Claude A. Swanson on 12 September 1938. The medal was first issued in 1938 and was an active award until 1958. On 12 September ...
with star, World War I Victory Medal,
American Defense Service Medal The American Defense Service Medal was a military award of the United States Armed Forces, established by , by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, on June 28, 1941. The medal was intended to recognize those military service members who had served ...
,
American Campaign Medal The American Campaign Medal is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was first created on November 6, 1942, by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The medal was intended to recognize those military members who had perfo ...
, and
World War II Victory Medal The World War II Victory Medal is a service medal of the United States military which was established by an Act of Congress on 6 July 1945 (Public Law 135, 79th Congress) and promulgated by Section V, War Department Bulletin 12, 1945. The Wo ...
.


Death

Vincent Astor died on February 3, 1959, of a heart attack in his apartment at 120 East End Avenue in
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
. He left all of his money to the Vincent Astor foundation, with Brooke surprising many. She continued his philanthropic work. Astor was first interred at his " Ferncliff Casino" estate ("Astor Courts") along the
Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between Ne ...
in
Rhinebeck, New York Rhinebeck is a village in the town of Rhinebeck in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 2,657 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie– Newburgh– Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well ...
. The home included an indoor tennis pavilion, two squash courts, and the country's first indoor heated pool. When his widow,
Brooke Astor Roberta Brooke Astor (née Russell; March 30, 1902 – August 13, 2007) was an American philanthropist, socialite, and writer who was the chairwoman of the Vincent Astor Foundation, established by her third husband, Vincent Astor, son of John ...
, later disposed of the property, he was reinterred in the
Sleepy Hollow Cemetery Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Sleepy Hollow, New York, is the final resting place of numerous famous figures, including Washington Irving, whose 1820 short story " The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is set in the adjacent burying ground at the Old Dutch ...
in
Sleepy Hollow, New York Sleepy Hollow is a village in the town of Mount Pleasant, New York, Mount Pleasant, in Westchester County, New York, United States. The village is located on the east bank of the Hudson River, about north of New York City, and is served by the ...
. Brooke is buried next to him. His half-brother John Jacob Astor VI, known as "Jakey", felt cheated and resentfully stated that Vincent "had the legal, not the moral right to keep all the money". Jakey sued Brooke to inherit his money. He was certain that Vincent was "mentally incompetent" when signing his last will in June 1958 due to frequent smoking and alcoholism, although Brooke insisted otherwise. While Vincent was hospitalized, Brooke often brought him liquor. Jakey accused her of using the liquor to influence the will in her favor. Jakey ended up settling for $250,000. The rest of the money remained with the Vincent Astor foundation and Brooke.


Mount Astor

A mountain in
Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...
bears Astor's name. Rising to a height of 3,710 m, Mount Astor is located in the
Hays Mountains The Hays Mountains () are a large group of mountains and peaks of the Queen Maud Mountains of Antarctica, surmounting the divide between the lower portions of Amundsen Glacier and Scott Glacier and extending from the vicinity of Mount Thorne on th ...
of the Queen Maud Range, and was named by Rear Admiral Richard Byrd on his November 1929 expedition flight to the
South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole, Terrestrial South Pole or 90th Parallel South, is one of the two points where Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on Earth and lies antipod ...
. Astor had been a contributing philanthropist to the expedition.USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS)
Mount Astor
retrieved 2010.07.26.


References


External links

*
Plans for Ferncliff
a
http://news.hrvh.org
* FBI file on Vincent Astor
BBC Radio 4, MI6's Secret Slush Fund
broadcast November 20, 2017, contains references to Vincent Astor's life {{DEFAULTSORT:Astor, Vincent 1891 births 1959 deaths
Vincent Vincent ( la, Vincentius) is a male given name derived from the Roman name Vincentius, which is derived from the Latin word (''to conquer''). People with the given name Artists *Vincent Apap (1909–2003), Maltese sculptor *Vincent van Gogh ...
19th-century American Episcopalians 20th-century American Episcopalians Philanthropists from New York (state) American magazine publishers (people) People from the Upper East Side Harvard College alumni Livingston family Schermerhorn family Burials at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery St. George's School (Rhode Island) alumni Military personnel from New York City United States Navy personnel of World War I United States Navy personnel of World War II