Prince Dimitri Aleksandrovich Jorjadze ( ka, დიმიტრი ჯორჯაძე) (26 October 189826 October 1985) was a Georgian nobleman, Ambassador Hotel executive, and

race car Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organis ...

driver.

Biography

Dimitri (Mito) Jorjadze was born in the country of Georgia, Kakheti, to Alexander Jorjadze, a Georgian noble man, officer, diplomat and a winemaker, and his half Ukrainian-half Georgian wife - Domenica Naumenko. Dimitri was a member of the Georgian

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million p ...

from the Jorjadze family, who became exiled after the overthrow of

Tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the te ...

ist Russia and the subsequent

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

takeover. The 6'3" prince was probably best known in racing circles. In early July 1931, he won the Touring Car Grand Prix,

24 Hours of Spa The 24 Hours of Spa is an endurance racing event for cars held annually since 1924 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot, Belgium. It is currently sponsored by TotalEnergies. History The Spa 24 Hours was conceived by Jules de Their ...

, in Belgium. He covered the greatest distance, 1,580.7 miles at a speed of 65.8 miles per hour, in a

Mercedes-Benz SSK The Mercedes-Benz SSK (W06) is a roadster built by German automobile manufacturer Mercedes-Benz between 1928 and 1932. The name is an abbreviation of ''Super Sport Kurz'', German for "Super Sport Short", as it was a short wheelbase development ...

with

Goffredo Zehender Goffredo 'Freddie' Zehender (Reggio Calabria, Italy, 27 February 1901 - 7 January 1958) was an Italian racing driver. He started his driving career with Chrysler, then Bugatti and most of his career with Alfa Romeo as works or private driver. He w ...

Boone Hall

In June 1940, he bought the historic South Carolina

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Th ...

known as

Boone Hall Boone Hall Plantation is a historic district located in Mount Pleasant, Charleston County, South Carolina, United States and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The most important historic structures in the district are the br ...

, eight miles from Charleston, South Carolina in the U.S., from Thomas A. Stone of Canada. He raced

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

s under the ''

nom de course NOM may refer to: * National Organization for Marriage * Natural organic matter * New Order Mormons * Nickelodeon Original Movies * ''Nintendo Official Magazine'', official British Nintendo magazine; now discontinued, superseded by '' Official ...

'', Boone Hall Stable. Most notable of his horses was

Princequillo Princequillo (1940–1964) was a Thoroughbred racehorse conceived in France and born in Ireland. He is known for his performances in long-distance races and his successes as a sire. Background His sire, Prince Rose, stood at the Haras de Cheff ...

, which in 1943, was the fastest distance runner in the United States and which became a two-time

Leading sire in North America The list below shows the leading sire of Thoroughbred racehorses in North America for each year since 1830. This is determined by the amount of prize money won by the sire's progeny during the year. It is restricted to stallions which are based i ...

and a seven-time

Leading broodmare sire in North America The list below shows the leading Thoroughbred sire of broodmares in North America for each year since 1924. This is determined by the amount of prize money won during the year by racehorses which were foaled by a daughter of the sire. The most ...

. Jorjadze was associated with Prince Serge Obolensky in the hotel business in New York City.

Private life

He was married twice. His first wife was

Audrey Emery Anna Audrey Emery (January 4, 1904 – November 25, 1971) was an American heiress and socialite who was the wife of one of the last Russian grand dukes. Early life Audrey was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on 4 January 1904. She was the youngest ...

, the American-born former wife of

Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia (russian: Великий Князь Дмитрий Павлович; 18 September 1891 – 5 March 1942) was a son of Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia, a grandson of Tsar Alexander II of Russia and a ...

; he married her in March 1937 in

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the c ...

, England. The marriage ended in divorce. He married for a second time in 1954 to

Sylvia Ashley Sylvia, Lady Ashley (born Edith Louisa Hawkes, 1 April 1904 – 29 June 1977) was an English model, actress, and socialite who was best known for her numerous marriages to British and Georgian noblemen and American movie stars. Early life Ash ...

, a one-time English showgirl who had been married to Major Lord Anthony Ashley-Cooper,

Clark Gable William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American film actor, often referred to as "The King of Hollywood". He had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in multiple genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades ...

, and

Douglas Fairbanks Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. (born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman; May 23, 1883 – December 12, 1939) was an American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films including '' The Thi ...

, Sr.

References

External links

Motor Races 1931 - Belgian 24-Hours-Race

Europe Royalty : Russia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jorjadze, Dimitri 1898 births 1985 deaths Nobility of Georgia (country) 20th-century people from Georgia (country) Georgian racing drivers Russian racing drivers 24 Hours of Spa drivers American racehorse owners and breeders White Russian emigrants to the United States American people of Georgian (country) descent

Biography

Boone Hall

Private life

See also

References

External links