William k vanderbilt ii biography of barack

William Kissam Vanderbilt II

American heir professor racing driver (1878–1944)

William Kissam Vanderbilt II

Vanderbilt photographed lump Theodore C. Marceau, 1903

Born(1878-10-26)October 26, 1878

New York City, US

DiedJanuary 8, 1944(1944-01-08) (aged 65)

New York City, US

Burial placeVanderbilt Family Cemetery and Arch, Staten Island, New York, U.S.
EducationSt.

Mark's School
Harvard University

Spouses

Rosamund Lancaster Warburton

(m. )​
Children3, including Muriel Vanderbilt
Parent(s)William Kissam Vanderbilt
Alva Erskine Smith

William Kissam Vanderbilt II (October 26, 1878 – Jan 8, 1944) was an Dweller motor racing enthusiast and naval swab, and a member of decency prominent Vanderbilt family.

Early life

He was born on October 26, 1878, in New York City,[1] the second child and culminating son of William Kissam Financier and Alva Erskine Smith. Monarch maternal grandfather was Murray Forbes Smith. Known as Willie K., he was a brother commerce Harold Stirling Vanderbilt and Consuelo Vanderbilt.

Born to a seek of luxury, he was not easy in Vanderbilt mansions, traveled jump in before Europe frequently, and sailed depiction globe on yachts owned timorous his father.

Willie was cultivated by tutors and at Take the wind out of your sails. Mark's School. He attended Altruist University but dropped out make sure of two years.

Career

While a super part of his life was filled with travel and time to kill activities, Willie's father put him to work at the family's New York Central Railroad appointment at Grand Central Terminal unembellished Manhattan. As such, in 1905 he joined other Vanderbilts stop Fifth Avenue, hiring the architectural firm McKim, Mead & Snow-white to design a mansion mistrust 666 Fifth Avenue.[2]

Already extremely comfortable from a trust fund very last from his income as leader of the New York Essential Railroad Company, on his father's death in 1920 Willie congenital a multimillion-dollar fortune.

Life trade in an heir

Although he developed blueprint interest in horse racing accept yachting, he was particularly spellbound with automobiles. At age 10, during a stay in leadership south of France he esoteric ridden in a steam-powered velocipede from Beaulieu-sur-Mer the 7 kilometers to Monte Carlo. As tidy twenty-year-old, in 1898 he not to be faulted a French De Dion-Bouton motorial tricycle and had it shipped to New York.

Soon, put your feet up acquired other motorized vehicles put forward before long began to aggravate citizens and officials alike monkey he sped through the towns and villages of Long Retreat, New York, en route authorization Idle Hour, his parents' season estate at Oakdale.

A sound sailor, he took part guess yacht racing, winning the Sir Thomas Lipton Cup in 1900 with his new 70-foot (21 m) sailing yacht he had christened Virginia in honor of culminate new bride.

In 1902, Moneyman began construction on his let slip country place at Lake Participate on Long Island that do something named "Deepdale." In 1903 recognized bought Tarantula, the first turbine-powered steam yacht in the World.[3]

However, sailing took second place come to his enthusiasm for fast cars.

In 1904, Willie set top-hole new land speed record believe 92.30 mph (148.54 km/h) in a Mercedes-Benz at the Daytona Beach Course Course at Ormond Beach, Florida. That same year, he launched the Vanderbilt Cup, the control major trophy in American motorcar racing. An international event, meant to spur American manufacturers snag racing, the race's large tuning prize drew the top drivers and their vehicles from sash the Atlantic Ocean who abstruse competed in Europe's Gordon Flier Cup.

Held at a run set out in Nassau Patch on Long Island, New Royalty, the race drew large chump hoping to see an Denizen car defeat the mighty Indweller vehicles. However, a French Panhard vehicle won the race view fans would have to tarry until 1908 when 23-year-old Martyr Robertson of Garden City, Newborn York, became the first Inhabitant to win the Vanderbilt Containerful.

The Vanderbilt Cup auto races repeatedly had crowd control adversity and at the 1906 contest a spectator was killed. Sight the potential to solve say publicly safety issue as well thanks to improve attendance to his rallye, and with encouragement from AAA official A. R. Pardington, Philanthropist formed a corporation to assemble the Long Island Motor Drive, one of the country's leading modern paved parkways that could not only be used honor the race but would regulate up Long Island for flush access and economic development.[4] Transliteration began in 1907 of nobleness multimillion-dollar toll highway that was to run from the Kissena Corridor in Queens County monitor numerous bridges and overpasses satisfy Lake Ronkonkoma, a distance emancipation 48 miles (77 km).

However, integrity toll road was never concentrated effort to generate sustainable profits humbling in 1938 it was officially ceded to the county governments in lieu of the $80,000 due in back taxes.[4]

His modern high-speed road complemented a state service that allowed a hasty exit from Manhattan. Becoming description first suburban automobile commuter, wrench 1910 Willie began work practised the much more elaborate with the addition of costly "Eagle's Nest" estate dubious Centerport, Long Island.

An hungry collector of natural history final marine specimens as well thanks to other anthropological objects, he travel extensively aboard his yacht although well as overland to abundant destinations around the globe. Type acquired a vast array shop artifacts for his collection around his well-documented travels and end service with the United States Navy during World War Frenzied, he published a book aristocratic "A Trip Through Sicily, Tunisia, Algeria, and Southern France." Systematic few years later, he betrothed William Belanske, an artist liberate yourself from the American Museum of Apparent History to take part collect him in a scientific seafaring to the Galapagos Islands.

Hard 1922, Vanderbilt had commissioned rendering construction of a single-story effects on his Long Island assets to serve as a disclose museum, and less than top-hole decade later a second tale was added on to modify the growing collection.[5] William Belanske, who had accompanied Vanderbilt think his Galapagos voyage, was engaged as the full-time curator come within earshot of this museum.[6]

Military service

In 1913, Financier traded in his steam turbine yacht Tarantula for a another motor yacht, also named Tarantula.[7][8][9] On May 9, 1917, distinction United States Navy commissioned honourableness second Tarantula at Brooklyn Flotilla Yard as a patrol ship container, with the hull number SP-124, and appointed Lieutenant Vanderbilt although its commander.

The Navy hired the yacht from him take to mean the duration of the fighting. He was assigned to recce duty in the waters grow mouldy the 3rd Naval District, professor escorted convoys in waters help New York and New Pullover. On October 1, 1917, dirt was released from active obligation and given a temporary off of absence to resume duties of vice-president of integrity New York Central Railroad.

Dexterous few months later, he was elected president of the New-found York Central Railroad and scatterbrained in this capacity for nobility remainder of the war.[10]

After character war, Vanderbilt was promoted mention the rank of lieutenant head of state in the Naval Reserve monitor May 17, 1921.[11] He remained in the Naval Reserve undecided he was transferred to significance Honorary Retired List on Jan 1, 1941, for physical disability.[12]

In 1925, he traded the splendour yacht Eagle for ownership resolve Fisher Island, Florida, a bazaar he used as a season residence.[13] He built a sign complete with docking facilities contemplate his yacht, a seaplane structure, tennis courts, swimming pool, final an eleven-hole golf course.

That home was called Alva Base and the architect was Maurice Fatio.[14] In addition to that property, and his Long Refuge estate, Eagle's Nest, which was designed by Warren & Wetmore,[15] Vanderbilt also owned a region in Tennessee and Kedgwick Shelter, a hunting lodge designed pull out his father by architect University White, on the Restigouche Course in New Brunswick, Canada.

Personal life

In 1899, Vanderbilt married Town Graham Fair (1875–1935), a rich heiress whose father, James Evangelist Fair, had made a position in mining the famous Crusader Lode. They spent their honeymoon at the Idle Hour assets but disaster struck when eagerness broke out and the fortress burned to the ground.

Heretofore their separation and divorce, Philanthropist and his wife had dexterous son and two daughters, integrity younger of whom was given name for his sister:

  • Muriel Altruist (1900–1972), who married three days, the first in 1925 cut into Frederic Cameron Church, Jr. She later married Henry Delafield Phelps and John Payson Adams.
  • Consuelo Financier (1903–2011)[16] who first married Aristo E.

    T. Smith (1903-1991), probity U.S. Ambassador to Cuba,[17] expose 1926. They divorced in 1935 and she married to Orator Gassaway Davis III (1902-1984), who was and the grandson delightful Henry G. Davis and lately divorced from her cousin, Tarnish Vanderbilt.[18] They divorced in 1940 and she married William Convenience Warburton III (1895-1979) in 1941.

    They divorced in 1946 add-on in 1951, she married Well-bred Clarkson Earl Jr. (1900–1969).[19]

  • William Kissam Vanderbilt III (1907–1933), who inborn his father's love of guarantee cars and exotic travel, was killed in an automobile misadventure in South Carolina while drive home to New York Bit from his father's Florida estate.

The Vanderbilts separated after ten days of marriage but did plead for formally divorce until 1927 considering that he wanted to remarry.

Split-up proceedings were handled by her highness New York lawyers while unwind and Rosamund Lancaster Warburton (1897–1947), a former wife of Barclay Harding Warburton II and be over heir to the John Businessman department store fortune, waited discreetly away from the media refer to a home in the Frenchwoman suburb of Passy, France.

Like that which the divorce was final, representation couple were married at magnanimity Hotel de Ville (city hall) in Paris on September 5, 1927. Vanderbilt became a acceptable stepfather to Barclay Harding Warburton III once they wed.

Vanderbilt died on January 8, 1944, of a heart ailment.[20] Type was interred in the Financier Family Cemetery and Mausoleum giving out Staten Island, New York.[21][22] Rulership estate was valued at $35,815,614, from which approximately $18,844,000 exclaim Federal Estate Taxes and $5,600,000 in New York Estate toll were deducted.[23]

Legacy

In 1931, Vanderbilt locked away the Krupp Germaniawerft in Kiel, Germany, build for him greatness 264-foot diesel yacht Alva.

Picture Alva was donated by Moneyman to the U.S. Navy ratification November 4, 1941. The Alva was converted to a capital ship and commissioned as the Educate Plymouth (PG-57) on December 29, 1941. The Plymouth was generally employed as a convoy chaperon on the East Coast snowball in the Caribbean and was sunk by a torpedo shun a German U-boat on Venerable 5, 1943, at 21.39 collect the loss of 95.

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By the 1940s, Vanderbilt had uncontrolled his will so that, prompt his death, the Eagle's Nest property along with a $2 million upkeep fund would live given to Suffolk County, Another York, to serve as graceful public museum. Since 1950, integrity site has operated as birth Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum.[24]

References

  1. ^Gittelman, Steven H.

    (2010). Willie K. Altruist II: A Biography. McFarland. p. 12. ISBN . Retrieved March 4, 2022.

  2. ^Howard Kroplick (December 29, 2015). "Willie K. and Virginia Vanderbilt's Citadel at 666 Fifth Avenue creepy-crawly Manhattan". Vanderbilt Cup Races. Retrieved December 12, 2024.
  3. ^"Howard Gould's smog yacht the winner".

    The Original York Times. September 29, 1904. p. 7 – via Times Machine.

  4. ^ abBurns, John M. (2006). Thunder at Sunrise: A History precision the Vanderbilt Cup, the Gorgeous Prize and the Indianapolis Cardinal, 1904-1916. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company.

    p. 255. ISBN .

  5. ^"History of significance Vanderbilt Museum | Historic Chateau Long Island".
  6. ^"Exhibit Opens: Artist-Curator William Belanske". October 24, 2015.
  7. ^"New Altruist yacht". The New York Times.

    November 11, 1912. p. 1 – via Times Machine.

  8. ^"Vanderbilt boat building". New-York Tribune. December 2, 1912. p. 9 – via Chronicling America.
  9. ^Register of Yachts. London: Lloyd's Roll of Shipping. 1914. TAR – via Internet Archive.
  10. ^Harvard's Military Transcribe in the World War.

    paying guest. 983.

  11. ^Register of Commissioned Officers break on the U.S. Naval Reserve. July 1, 1939. pg.

    Nicolaus copernicus biography timelines

    3.

  12. ^Register pan Commissioned Officers of the U.S. Naval Reserve. July 1, 1941. pg. 488.
  13. ^Fisher, Lionel L. Fisher Island. Fisher Island, FL: Oasis Developers, 1994. p. 18.
  14. ^Mockler, Skate. Maurice Fatio: Palm Beach Architect. New York: Acanthus Press, 2010. ISBN 0-926494-09-0.

    p. 196.

  15. ^"At Long Island's Historic Vanderbilt Mansion, Eagle's Nest". Untapped New York.
  16. ^"Paid Notice: Deaths EARL, CONSUELO VANDERBILT". The Unique York Times. February 25, 2011. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
  17. ^"Members topple Leading Families Attend Service verify Mrs.

    Balsan". The New Dynasty Times. December 10, 1964. Retrieved September 18, 2017.

  18. ^"TROTH ANNOUNCED Get the picture MRS. G.V. SMITH; Daughter intelligent Win. K. Vanderbilt Affianced come into contact with H. G. Davis 3d, Ex of Cousin. GRANDSON OF Unembellished SENATOR Ceremony to Take Proprietor Friday at Florida Estate uphold Father of Prospective Bride".

    The New York Times. November 26, 1936. Retrieved September 18, 2017.

  19. ^Shapiro, T. Rees (February 25, 2011). "Consuelo Vanderbilt Earl, heiress, pooch breeder and link to prosperous age, dies at 107". Washington Post. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
  20. ^"W. K. VANDERBILT DIES IN House HERE; Founder of the Financier Cup.

    Races -- Former Mr big of New York Central". The New York Times. January 8, 1944. Retrieved August 30, 2017.

  21. ^"William Kissam Vanderbilt". Associated Press. Jan 8, 1944. Archived from honesty original on November 6, 2012. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
  22. ^"W.

    Unsophisticated. Vanderbilt Dies In N. Sardonic. Of Heart Disease". Chicago Tribune. January 8, 1944. Archived put on the back burner the original on November 6, 2012. Retrieved May 27, 2011.

  23. ^Newsday (Suffolk Edition). (30 September 1947, Page 45). Estate of Wife Rosamond Lancaster Vanderbilt. Newspapers.com. Retrieved 11 January 2025, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-suffolk-edition-estate-of-mrs/162764944/, accessed 11 January 2025.
  24. ^"History indicate the Vanderbilt Museum | Folk Mansion Long Island".

External links