John Jacob Astor III
| John Jacob Astor III | |
|---|---|
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| Born |
June 10, 1822 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died | February 22, 1890 (aged 67) New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Resting place | Trinity Church Cemetery, New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | financier, philanthropist |
| Known for | patriarch of English Astors |
| Spouse(s) | Charlotte Augusta Gibbes (m. 1846–1887; her death) |
| Children | William Waldorf Astor, 1st Viscount Astor |
| Parent(s) |
William Backhouse Astor, Sr. Margaret Alida Rebecca Armstrong |
| Relatives | See Astor family |
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John Jacob Astor III (June 10, 1822 – February 22, 1890) was an American financier, philanthropist and a soldier during the American Civil War. He was a prominent member of the Astor family, becoming the wealthiest family member in his generation and the founder of their English branch.
Astor was the eldest son of real estate businessman William Backhouse Astor, Sr. (1792–1875) and Margaret Alida Rebecca Armstrong (1800–1872), a nephew of occasional poet John Jacob Astor, Jr. (1791–1869), and a grandson of fur-trader John Jacob Astor (1763–1848), Sarah Cox Todd (1761–1842), Senator John Armstrong, Jr. (1758–1843) and Alida Livingston (1761–1822) of the Livingston family. His younger brother, businessman William Backhouse Astor, Jr. (1829–1892), became the patriarch of the male line of American Astors.
John Astor studied at Columbia University and the University of Göttingen, following which he went to Harvard Law School. He practiced law for a year, to qualify for assisting in the management of his family's immense estate, one half of which later descended to him. It was based on his paternal grandfather's achieving a monopoly in the lucrative fur trade in the early nineteenth century.
Astor was elected lieutenant colonel of the 12th Regiment of the New York Militia. He resigned from the office in 1853.
During the American Civil War, Astor served as a volunteer aide-de-camp to Major General George B. McClellan (then commanding general of the U.S. Army) from November 30, 1861 to July 11, 1862. In recognition of his services during the Peninsular Campaign, Astor was brevetted as a brigadier general of Volunteers in March 1865.
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