Editing Vincent Astor

{{Short description|American businessman and philanthropist (1891–1959)}}
{{Infobox person
| image            = Vincent Astor, half-length portrait, facing right) - Marceau LCCN96503454 (cropped).jpg
| caption          = Astor in 1912
| birth_name       = William Vincent Astor
| birth_date       = {{Birth date|1891|11|15}}
| birth_place      = [[New York City]], U.S.
| death_date       = {{Death date and age|1959|2|3|1891|11|15}} 
| death_place      = New York City, U.S.
| burial_place     = [[Sleepy Hollow Cemetery]], [[Sleepy Hollow, New York]], U.S.
| occupation       = Businessman, philanthropist
| spouse           = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|[[Helen Huntington Hull|Helen Huntington]]|1914|1940|reason=div}}
* {{marriage|[[Mary Benedict Cushing]]|1940|1953|reason=div}}
* {{marriage|[[Brooke Astor|Brooke Russell]]|1953}}
}}
| parents          = [[John Jacob Astor IV]]<br>[[Ava Lowle Willing]]
| relatives        = See [[Astor family]]
}}

'''William Vincent Astor''' (November 15, 1891 – February 3, 1959) was an American businessman, philanthropist, and member of the prominent [[Astor family]].<ref name=obit/>

==Early life==
Called Vincent, he was born in [[New York City]] on November 15, 1891. Astor was the elder child of [[John Jacob Astor IV]], a wealthy businessman and inventor, and his first wife, [[Ava Lowle Willing]], an heiress from [[Philadelphia]].

He graduated in 1910 from [[St. George's School (Rhode Island)|St. George's School]] in [[Middletown, Rhode Island]], and attended [[Harvard College]] from 1911 to 1912, leaving school without graduating.<ref>Harvard's Military Record in the World War. page 46.</ref> In 1912 Vincent Astor's father, John Jacob Astor IV died on the ''Titanic'' and left him the biggest fortune at that time and made Vincent Astor one of the richest people in the world.<ref>{{cite news |title=Noted Men On The Lost Titanic. Col. Jacob Astor, with His Wife. Isidor Straus and Wife, and Benj. Guggenheim Aboard. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1912/04/16/archives/noted-men-on-the-lost-titanic-col-jacob-astor-with-his-wife-isidor.html |quote=Following are sketches of a few of the well-known persons among the 1,300 passengers on the lost Titanic. The fate of most of them at this time is, of course, not known. Colonel John Jacob Astor and Mrs. Astor, [[Isidor Straus]] and Mrs. Straus, [[J. Bruce Ismay]], Managing Director of the White Star Line: [[Benjamin Guggenheim]], and [[Frank D. Millet]], the artist, are perhaps the most widely known of the passengers. ... . |newspaper=The New York Times |date=April 16, 1912 |access-date=December 10, 2013}}</ref><ref name=esjjacol>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=cEssAAAAIBAJ&pg=6166%2C3485431 |newspaper=Spartanburg Herald |location=South Carolina |agency=Associated Press |title=Col. John Jacob Astor left estate worth $86,966,611 |date=June 14, 1913 |page=1}}</ref>

==Interests==
[[File:TimeMagazine6Feb1928.jpg|thumb|right|On the cover of ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', February 6, 1928]]
Like his father, Astor belonged to the New York [[Society of Colonial Wars]].  Having joined the [[United States Navy Reserve|U.S. Naval Reserve Force]] prior to America's entry to the [[First World War]], he was called to active duty on April 7, 1917, and was later promoted to [[Lieutenant]].  As executive officer aboard the armed yacht [[USS Aphrodite|USS ''Aphrodite'']] he saw service escorting convoys and was aboard when she struck a mine on January 10, 1919.  Subsequently, Astor was made commodore of the [[New York Yacht Club]] from 1928 to 1930.

Astor was interested in trains. In the early 1930s, he established an estate in [[Bermuda]] which included a private [[narrow-gauge railway]] and [[union station]] with the [[Bermuda Railway]]. The estate is now divided among several private owners, none of whom are part of the Astor family. As recently as 1992, the remains of some of his [[rolling stock]] were visible.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.bermuda-attractions.com/bermuda_0002ca.htm |title = Vincent Astor and his Bermuda Estate}}</ref>

In 1937, Astor became the chairman and chief stockholder of ''[[Newsweek]]'' magazine.<ref>[https://www.newsweek.com/newsweek-turns-82-307500 'Newsweek' Turns 82], ''Newsweek'' (February 17, 2015).</ref> From 1940 to 1959, the magazine was headquartered at the [[Six Times Square|Knickerbocker Building]], built by his father.<ref>''Architectural Guidebook to New York City'', Francis Morrone (Gibbs Smith: 2009), p. 199.</ref> Astor remained the principal owner until his death in 1959. Two years later, [[The Washington Post Company]] purchased a controlling stake (59%) of ''Newsweek'' magazine from the Vincent Astor Foundation for $8 million.<ref>Harrison E. Salisbury, [https://www.nytimes.com/1961/03/10/archives/washington-post-buys-newsweek-it-acquires-59-of-stock-from-astor.html WASHINGTON POST BUYS NEWSWEEK; It Acquires 59% of Stock From Astor Foundation for $8,000,000], ''The New York Times'' (March 10, 1961).</ref>

==Philanthropy==
Vincent Astor was, according to family biographer Derek Wilson, "a hitherto unknown phenomenon in America: an Astor with a highly developed social conscience." He was 20 when his father died in the sinking of the ocean liner ''[[Titanic]]'' and, having inherited a massive fortune, he dropped out of Harvard. He set out to change the family's image from that of miserly, aloof slum landlords who enjoyed the good life at the expense of others.

Over time, he sold off the family's New York City slum housing and reinvested in reputable enterprises, while spending a great deal of time and energy helping others. He was responsible for the construction of a large housing complex in the [[Bronx, New York|Bronx]] that included sufficient land for a large children's playground, and in [[Harlem]], he transformed a valuable piece of real estate into another playground for children.

Astor appeared at No. 12 on the first list of America's richest people, compiled by ''[[Forbes (magazine)|Forbes]]'' magazine. His net worth at the time was estimated at $75 million. 

[[File:Ferncliff, Rhinebeck, New York.jpg|thumb|[[Ferncliff Farm|Ferncliff]], the Astor family's country estate in [[Rhinebeck (town), New York|Rhinebeck, New York]]]]
He also inherited [[Ferncliff Farm|Ferncliff]], the Astor family's {{convert|2800|acre|km2|adj=on}} estate in [[Rhinebeck (town), New York|Rhinebeck, New York]], where his father had been born. However, Vincent Astor would be the last family member to own the estate as well as the final Astor to occupy the "Ferncliff Casino", a [[Stanford White]]-designed 1904 [[Beaux-Arts architecture|Beaux-Arts style]] {{convert|40000|sqft|m2}} building, which was inspired by the [[Grand Trianon]] at [[Versailles Palace|Versailles]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.astorcourts.com/ |title=Astor Courts |publisher=Astor Courts |access-date=October 2, 2012}}</ref><ref name="blogspot1">{{cite web|url=http://realestalker.blogspot.com/2010/07/astor-courts-historical-site-of-chelsea.html |title=The Real Estalker: Astor Courts, Historical Site of Chelsea Clinton's Hitching |publisher=Realestalker.blogspot.com |date=July 30, 2010 |access-date=October 2, 2012}}</ref>

On his death in 1959, Astor bequeathed the main house at Ferncliff to the Benedictine Hospital in [[Kingston, New York]]. His widow, Brooke, later donated the "Ferncliff Casino" to the Catholic Archdiocese of New York and sold off many parcels of the estate. In 1963, Homer Staley, a retired businessman in the area, asked Brooke Astor to preserve the remaining natural acreage of [[woodland]]s from development. She donated the woodlands to the Rotary Club of Rhinebeck, and the land became the [[Ferncliff Forest|Ferncliff Forest Game Refuge and Forest Preserve]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nynjctbotany.org/lgtofc/fernclif.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030201032216/http://www.nynjctbotany.org/lgtofc/fernclif.html |url-status=usurped |archive-date=February 1, 2003 |title=Hiking Ferncliff Forest Game Refuge and Forest Preserve |publisher=Nynjctbotany.org |access-date=October 2, 2012}}</ref>

===The Sinclair-Astor Letters===
[[Upton Sinclair]], author of ''[[The Jungle]]'', wrote Astor an open letter, which he describes in ''[[The Brass Check]]'' and he also sent to half a dozen newspapers, requesting that he support the Socialist cause and help the poor, at a time when Sinclair claims Astor was erecting a million-dollar estate, without benefiting the rest of society; the only newspaper to publish his letter was a Socialist newspaper, the ''[[New York Call]]''. Vincent Astor replied to this letter, and also sent a copy out to half a dozen newspapers, and according to Sinclair, all of them published his reply in full, including the ''New York Call''.<ref>[https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/cgi-bin/colorado?a=d&d=THD19140116-01.2.105&e=-------en-20--1--img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA--------0------   Astor Answers Sinclair]</ref> Sinclair claimed this was what he considered a scientific demonstration of bias of the media in favor of the wealthy because they gave Astor complete coverage, often on the front page, and, except for the ''Call'', they declined to publish his first letter, and only three of the traditional newspapers published a small portion of his reply to Astor's letter, without featuring it as prominently.<ref>[https://www.gutenberg.org/files/64657/64657-h/64657-h.htm#Page_125 "The Brass Check" by Upton Sinclair 1920]</ref>

==Marriages==
[[File:Helen Dinsmore Huntingdon.jpg|thumb|right|[[Helen Huntington Hull|Helen Dinsmore Huntington]]]]
Astor married [[Helen Dinsmore Huntington]] on April 30, 1914.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9906E0DE173AE633A25752C0A9639C946596D6CF|title=Vincent Astor Weds Helen Huntington; Pallid from Illness, but Active in the Festivities After the Ceremony|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=May 1, 1914|access-date=October 2, 2012|url-access=subscription }}</ref> At the ceremony, he was stricken with the [[mumps]], a disease that made him sterile; as for the bride, her friend [[Glenway Wescott]], the novelist, admiringly described her in his unpublished diaries as "a grand, old-fashioned lesbian."<ref>Glenway Wescott Collection, Beinecke Library, Yale University, [[New Haven, Connecticut]]</ref> The couple divorced in 1940. A year later, Helen became the second wife of Lytle Hull (1882&ndash;1958), a real-estate broker who was a friend and business associate of her former husband.

Shortly after his divorce, Astor married [[Mary Benedict Cushing]], the eldest daughter of Dr. [[Harvey Williams Cushing]] and Katharine Stone Crowell. Mary's sisters—the trio were collectively known as the "[[Cushing Sisters]]"—were [[Betsey Cushing Roosevelt Whitney|Betsey Maria Cushing]] and [[Babe Paley|Barbara "Babe" Cushing]]. Astor and Cushing divorced in September 1953, and the following month, Cushing wed James Whitney Fosburgh, a painter who worked as an art lecturer at the [[Frick Museum]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Mary Fosburgh, 72. One of Cushing Sisters And a Leader in Arts. Raised Funds During War |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/11/06/archives/mary-fosburgh-72-one-of-cushing-sisters-and-a-leader-in-arts-raised.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=November 8, 1978 |access-date=March 21, 2010 }}</ref>

On October 8, 1953, several weeks after divorcing his second wife, Astor married the once-divorced, once-widowed [[Brooke Astor|Roberta Brooke Russell]]. According to an often-told story in society circles, Astor agreed to divorce his second wife only after she had found him a replacement spouse. Her first suggestion was Janet Newbold Ryan Stewart Bush, the newly divorced wife of James Smith Bush II, who turned Astor down with startling candor, saying, "I don't even like you."<ref>{{cite web|title=Janet Newbold married (1) Allan A. Ryan Jr, (2) William Rhinelander Stewart, and (3) James Smith Bush II. Her third husband, to whom she was married from 1948 until 1952, was a brother of Senator Prescott Sheldon, an uncle of U.S. president George Herbert Walker Bush, and a great-uncle of U.S. president George Walker Bush|publisher=Newyorksocialdiary.com}}</ref> Astor proceeded to tell her that he was not well and, though only in his early 60s, he could not be expected to live for very long, whereupon she would inherit his millions. At that, Janet Bush reportedly replied, "What if you do live?". Mary Cushing then recommended Brooke. Together, Vincent and Brooke developed the Vincent Astor Foundation, a foundation that was designed to give back to [[New York City]]. Brooke died in 2007 at the age of 105.

==Wartime service in the United States Navy==

===World War I===
Astor joined the [[United States Navy Reserve|Naval Reserve]] shortly after it was founded and was commissioned as an ensign on December 28, 1915. He was called to active duty as part of the New York Naval Militia in February 1917 by order of Governor [[Charles S. Whitman]] to help guard bridges and aqueducts against possible German sabotage. Astor was assigned to help guard the [[Brooklyn Bridge|Brooklyn]] and [[Manhattan Bridge|Manhattan]] bridges.<ref>"Armed Guards Patrol Bridges". ''The New York Times''. February 5, 1917.</ref>

Following the declaration of war against Germany, Astor took advice from his friend and future president [[Franklin D. Roosevelt|Franklin Delano Roosevelt]] and volunteered for active duty with the Navy on April 7, 1917. He went overseas on June 9 on the [[USS Noma|USS ''Noma'']] (Astor's own yacht which had been acquired as a patrol ship by the Navy). He was later assigned to the armed yacht [[USS Aphrodite|USS ''Aphrodite'']].

He was promoted to lieutenant (junior grade) on January 1, 1918, and to lieutenant on July 1, 1918. He was joined in France by his wife, who did charity work with the [[YMCA]] at the naval base in Bordeaux, while he served as Port Officer at [[Royan]].

His last assignment was as an officer on the captured German minelaying submarine [[SM U-117|''U-117'']] during her voyage to the United States.  Astor returned to the United States on the ''U-117'' on April 25, 1919, and was discharged on May 24.<ref>''St. George's School in the War''. 1920. page 75.</ref>

After the war, Astor became a companion of the [[Naval Order of the United States]].

===World War II===
[[Image:Kindley Field Bermuda.jpg|thumb|The ''Astor Estate'' at [[Ferry Reach, Bermuda|Ferry Reach]], [[Bermuda]], which Vincent Astor sold after the [[United States Army]] built [[Kindley Air Force Base|Kindley Field]] airbase during the Second World War, with the [[glideslope]] of the main runway passing directly over his roof.]]
In the quiet before the war,  Astor sailed the ''[[USS Nourmahal (PG-72)|Nourmahal]]'' in 1938 to Japan on a secret civilian mission for President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] to gather intelligence on the Japanese naval operations around the [[Marshall Islands]] in the Pacific Ocean.<ref>[[Joseph E. Persico]] begins his book ''Roosevelt's Secret War'' with a description of the FDR-Vincent Astor friendship, including this secret civilian mission to Japan.</ref> As he had done with the ''Noma'' in the First World War, he lent his yacht ''[[USS Nourmahal (PG-72)|Nourmahal]]'' to the Coast Guard for service in the Second World War.

In [[World War II]], Astor again served on active duty with the Navy. He was called to active duty with the rank of commander and given assignment as Area Controller for New York.  In this position he coordinated merchant convoys leaving the city and provided informal intelligence work for President Roosevelt.

Perhaps Astor's longer lasting contributions were his weekly reports from the [[Chase Bank]], where his inside access included [[USSR]] account balances. On December 13, 1940, Astor began reporting to the [[US Treasury]] the Soviet weekly balances in an unbroken sequence (made by occasional substitutes) up through at least 1945.<ref>[[NARA]] Record Group 38, Records of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Records of the Office of Naval Intelligence, Central Administrative Correspondence, 1930-48, L10-5/EF61, Russian Gov't Funds, Box 398-399.</ref>

During the early months of 1942, Astor suggested equipping fishing boats with radios so they could report U-boat sightings. One boat so equipped was [[Ernest Hemingway]]'s fishing yacht ''[[Pilar (Ernest Hemingway's boat)|Pilar]]''.

In June 1943, he was promoted to the rank of captain (with date of rank June 18, 1942).<ref>''The New York Times''.  June 10, 1943.</ref>

For his service in the Navy, Captain Astor was awarded the [[Navy Commendation Medal]], [[Naval Reserve Medal]] with star, [[World War I Victory Medal (United States)|World War I Victory Medal]], [[American Defense Service Medal]], [[American Campaign Medal]], and [[World War II Victory Medal]].

==Death==
Vincent Astor died on February 3, 1959, of a heart attack in his apartment at 120 East End Avenue in [[Manhattan]].<ref name=obit>{{cite news |title=Vincent Astor Dies In His Home at 67 |url=http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/vincent-astor-dies-his-home-at-67.html|newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=February 4, 1959 |access-date=March 21, 2010}}</ref><ref>''[[Mason City Globe-Gazette]]'', February 3, 1959, page 1.</ref> He left all of his money to the Vincent Astor Foundation, with Brooke serving as its chairwoman, surprising many. She continued his philanthropic work.

Astor was first interred at his "[[Ferncliff Farm|Ferncliff Casino]]" estate ("Astor Courts") along the [[Hudson River]] in [[Rhinebeck, New York]]. The home included an indoor tennis pavilion, two squash courts, and the country's first indoor heated pool. When Brooke Astor later disposed of the property, she had him reinterred in [[Sleepy Hollow Cemetery]] in [[Sleepy Hollow, New York]].<ref name="blogspot1"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newyorksocialdiary.com/node/1902816 |publisher=New York Social Diary|title=Astor Legacy|access-date=July 27, 2010}}</ref>  Brooke is buried beside him.

His half-brother [[John Jacob Astor VI]], known as "Jakey", felt cheated and resentfully stated that Vincent "had the legal, not the moral right to keep all the money".<ref name=Survivors>{{cite book|last=Wilson|first=Andrew|title=Shadow of the Titanic: The Extraordinary Stories of Those Who Survived|year=2012|publisher=Simon and Schuster}}</ref> Jakey sued Brooke to inherit his money. He was certain that Vincent was "mentally incompetent" when signing his last will in June 1958 due to frequent smoking and alcoholism, although Brooke insisted otherwise. While Vincent was hospitalized, Brooke often brought him liquor. Jakey accused her of using the liquor to influence the will in her favor. Jakey ended up settling for $250,000. The rest of the money remained with the Vincent Astor Foundation and Brooke.<ref name=BrookeMemoir>{{cite book|last=Gordon|first=Meryl|title=Mrs. Astor Regrets: The Hidden Betrayals of a Family Beyond Reproach|url=https://archive.org/details/mrsastorregrets00gord|url-access=registration|year=2008|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|isbn=9780618893737}}</ref>

==Mount Astor==
A mountain in [[Antarctica]] bears Astor's name. Rising to a height of 3,710 m, [[Mount Astor]] is located in the [[Hays Mountains]] of the [[Queen Maud Mountains|Queen Maud Range]], and was named by [[Richard Evelyn Byrd|Rear Admiral Richard Byrd]] on his November 1929 expedition flight to the [[South Pole]]. Astor had been a contributing philanthropist to the expedition.<ref name="USGIS">USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), [http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:5:1300122222589224::NO::P5_ANTAR_ID:666 Mount Astor], retrieved 2010.07.26.</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Vincent Astor}}
*{{Find a Grave|8652807}}
*[http://news.hrvh.org/cgi-bin/newshrvh?a=d&cl=search&d=kingstondaily19120514.2.55 Plans for Ferncliff] at [http://news.hrvh.org HRVH Historical Newspapers]
*{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20030201032216/http://www.nynjctbotany.org/lgtofc/fernclif.html Ferncliff Forest Game Refuge and Forest Preserve]}}
*[https://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/11/06/garden/20081106-WHITE_index.html  New York Times: Ferncliff  "Astor Courts" - slide show]
*[[iarchive:VincentAstor|FBI file on Vincent Astor]]
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09fy1qm BBC Radio 4, MI6's Secret Slush Fund], broadcast November 20, 2017, contains references to Vincent Astor's life

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Astor, Vincent}}
[[Category:1891 births]]
[[Category:1959 deaths]]
[[Category:Astor family|Vincent]]
[[Category:20th-century American philanthropists]]
[[Category:20th-century American Episcopalians]]
[[Category:Philanthropists from New York (state)]]
[[Category:American magazine publishers (people)]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Manhattan]]
[[Category:People from the Upper East Side]]
[[Category:Harvard College alumni]]
[[Category:Livingston family]]
[[Category:Schermerhorn family]]
[[Category:Burials at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery]]
[[Category:St. George's School (Rhode Island) alumni]]
[[Category:Military personnel from New York City]]
[[Category:United States Navy personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:United States Navy personnel of World War II]]