John Jacob Astor IV
| John Jacob Astor IV | |
|---|---|
Astor in 1895
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| Born | July 13, 1864 Rhinebeck, New York, U.S. |
| Died | April 15, 1912 (aged 47) RMS Titanic, North Atlantic Ocean |
| Resting place | Trinity Church Cemetery, New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Education | St Paul's School |
| Alma mater | Harvard University |
| Net worth |
 US $87 million (equivalent to $2.16 billion in 2016) |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) |
Ava Lowle Willing (m. 1891–1910; divorced) Madeleine Talmage Force (m. 1911–1912; his death) |
| Children |
William Vincent Astor Ava Alice Muriel Astor John Jacob Astor VI |
| Parent(s) |
William Backhouse Astor, Jr. Caroline Webster Schermerhorn |
| Relatives | See Astor family |
John Jacob "Jack" Astor IV (July 13, 1864 – April 15, 1912) was an American businessman, real estate builder, investor, inventor, writer, lieutenant colonel in the Spanish–American War, and a prominent member of the Astor family.
Astor died in the sinking of the RMS Titanic during the early hours of April 15, 1912. He was among the 1,514 people on board who did not survive. He was the richest passenger aboard the Titanic and was thought to be among the richest people in the world at that time, with a net worth of nearly $87 million when he died (equivalent to $2.16 billion in 2016)
John Jacob Astor IV was born on July 13, 1864 at his parents' country estate Ferncliff in Rhinebeck, New York. He was the youngest of five children and only son of businessman, collector, and race horse breeder/owner William Backhouse Astor, Jr. (1829–1892) and socialite Caroline Webster "Lina" Schermerhorn (1830–1908). His four elder sisters were Emily (1854–1881), Helen (1855–1893), Charlotte (1858–1920), and Caroline ("Carrie") (1861–1948). He was a great-grandson of fur-trader John Jacob Astor (1763–1848) and Sarah Cox Todd (1761–1834), whose fortune made the Astor family one of the wealthiest in the United States. John's paternal grandfather William Backhouse Astor, Sr. (1792–1875) was a prominent real estate businessman. Through his paternal grandmother Margaret Alida Rebecca Armstrong (1800–1872), John was also a great-grandson of Senator John Armstrong, Jr. (1758–1843) and Alida Livingston (1761–1822) of the Livingston family. Lina's parents were Rochester mayor Abraham Maus Schermerhorn and socialite Helen Van Courtlandt White. Astor attended St Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire and later attended Harvard University. John was also a nephew of financer/philanthropist John Jacob Astor III (1822–1890) and grandnephew of occasional poet John Jacob Astor, Jr. (1791–1869). His sister Helen's husband was diplomat James Roosevelt "Rosey" Roosevelt (1854–1927), half-brother of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882–1945) of the Roosevelt family. Another sister, Carrie, a noted philanthropist, was the wife of Marshall Orme Wilson (1860–1926), brother of banker Richard Thornton Wilson, Jr. (1866–1929) and socialite Grace Graham Wilson (1870–1953). John was also a first cousin of William Waldorf Astor, 1st Viscount Astor (1848–1919).
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