Ivan Sergeyevich Obolensky (May 15, 1925 – January 29, 2019) was an American

financial analyst A financial analyst is a professional undertaking financial analysis for external or internal clients as a core feature of the job. United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

, serving as a Flight Lieutenant, and had also been a publisher. He died on January 29, 2019.

Early life

Obolensky was born in London, England, on May 15, 1925, to Prince Sergei Platonovich "Serge" Obolensky and

Ava Alice Muriel Astor Ava Alice Muriel Astor (July 7, 1902 – July 19, 1956) was an American heiress, socialite, and member of the Astor family. She was the daughter of John Jacob Astor IV and Ava Lowle Willing, and sister of Vincent Astor and half-sister of John Ja ...

. Paternally, he belonged to the

Obolensky The House of Obolensky () is an ancient Russian princely family, claiming descent from the Olgovichi branch of the Rurik dynasty. History Their name is said to derive from the town of Obolensk in the Upper Oka Principalities near Moscow. ...

family of Russian princes who trace their lineage to the

Rurikid The Rurik dynasty, also known as the Rurikid or Riurikid dynasty, as well as simply Rurikids or Riurikids, was a noble lineage allegedly founded by the Varangian prince Rurik, who, according to tradition, established himself at Novgorod in the ...

rulers of

Kievan Rus Kievan Rus', also known as Kyivan Rus,. * was the first East Slavic state and later an amalgam of principalities in Eastern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas of Russ ...

who preceded the

Romanov The House of Romanov (also transliterated as Romanoff; , ) was the reigning dynasty, imperial house of Russia from 1613 to 1917. They achieved prominence after Anastasia Romanovna married Ivan the Terrible, the first crowned tsar of all Russi ...

emperors. His mother was the only daughter 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 was among the most ...

, who died on the RMS ''Titanic'', and is thus a member of the

Astor family The Astor family achieved prominence in business sector, business, Socialite, society, and politics in the United States and the United Kingdom during the 19th and 20th centuries. With Germans, German roots, some of their ancestry goes back to th ...

. Obolensky was educated at St. George's School in Middletown, Rhode Island, and graduated from

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

New Haven New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is the third largest city in Co ...

, Connecticut, in 1947. While at Yale, he was a member of St. Elmo, a senior

secret society A secret society is an organization about which the activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence ag ...

Career

After Yale, Obolensky became a writer working for Telavid Inc. Imports, and went on to serve with the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

as a pilot. In 1957, he formed a publishing firm McDowell, Obolensky Inc. with a partner, David McDowell. The firm published

James Agee James Rufus Agee ( ; November 27, 1909 – May 16, 1955) was an American novelist, journalist, poet, screenwriter and film critic. In the 1940s, writing for ''Time'', he was one of the most influential film critics in the United States. His autob ...

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

-winning novel ''

A Death in the Family ''A Death in the Family'' is an autobiographical novel by James Agee. It was based on events which occurred to Agee in 1915, when his father went out of town to see his own father, who had suffered a heart attack. During the return trip, Agee's ...

'' (1957),

Joan Didion Joan Didion (; December 5, 1934 – December 23, 2021) was an American writer and journalist. She is considered one of the pioneers of New Journalism, along with Gay Talese, Truman Capote, Norman Mailer, Hunter S. Thompson, and Tom Wolfe. Didio ...

's debut novel '' Run, River'' (1963), and was the U.S. publisher for

Chinua Achebe Chinua Achebe (; born Albert Chinụalụmọgụ Achebe; 16 November 1930 – 21 March 2013) was a Nigerian novelist, poet, and critic who is regarded as a central figure of modern African literature. His first novel ''Things Fall Apart'' ( ...

's ''

Things Fall Apart ''Things Fall Apart'' is a 1958 novel by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe. It is Achebe's debut novel and was written when he was working at the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation. The novel was first published in London by Heinemann (publisher), ...

'' (1959). It was dissolved in 1960. Obolensky then formed a second publishing house, Ivan Obolensky, Inc. This firm continued through 1965, when he joined the investment banking firm of A. T. Brod & Company as a partner. The publishing house continued until 1968 under the name Astor-Honor. Throughout his main career on

Wall Street Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...

as a

financial analyst A financial analyst is a professional undertaking financial analysis for external or internal clients as a core feature of the job. Stock brokers and Vice President of Shields & Company. Obolensky was an active member of the philanthropic community in New York. He was, for many years, an active supporter of the

Soldiers', Sailors', Marines', Coast Guard and Airmen's Club The Soldiers', Sailors', Marines', Coast Guard and Airmen's Club was a gentlemen's club, private social club founded in 1919 and located at 283 Lexington Avenue between East 36th Street (Manhattan), 36th and 37th Street (Manhattan), 37th Stree ...

, and New York's

International Debutante Ball The International Debutante Ball is an invitation-only, Formal wear, formal Debutante, debutante ball, to officially present well-connected young women from Upper class, upper-class families to high society. Founded in 1954, it occurs every two ...

, which benefits the club. He was also Treasurer of the Russian Nobility Association in America, Inc., and the US Prior of the Orthodox Order of St. John.

Personal life

Obolensky first married in New York City on October 10, 1949, to Claire Elizabeth McGinnis (1929–2015). Claire was educated at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and at Miss Burke's School, both in San Francisco, and at

Finch College Finch College was an undergraduate women's college in Manhattan, New York City. The Finch School opened as a private secondary school for girls in 1900 and became a liberal arts college in 1952. It closed in 1976. Founding Finch was founded in ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. She was the daughter of Felix Signoret McGinnis (1883–1945), vice-president of the

Southern Pacific Company The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the names ...

, and Clara (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Leonhardt) McGinnis (1887–1984). Before their divorce in 1956, Ivan and Claire were the parents of one daughter and two sons: *Marina "Maria" Ivanovna Obolensky (b. 1951), who married N. Carlton. She later married William D. Folwick (1932–2017). *Ivan Ivanovich Obolensky (b. 1952), who married Mary Jo Smith without issue. *David Ivanovich Obolensky (b. 1953), who married Mary Catherine Hicks (b. 1952) on March 21, 1981; they are the parents of two daughters. After their divorce, Claire married designer and art advisor Garrick C. Stephenson (1927–2007). On October 22, 1959, Obolensky married for the second time to Mary Elizabeth Morris (1934–2006). Together, they were the parents of one son: *Sergei Ivanovich Obolensky (b. 1960), who married Cecelia Chapman Justice (b. 1956) in 1986; they are the parents of two sons.

Death

Ivan Obolensky died on January 29, 2019. His funeral was held at the Church of the Incarnation in New York City.

References

External links