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Colonel John Jacob Astor IV ( July 13 , 1864 – April 15 , 1912 ) was a businessman, inventor, writer and a member of the prominent Astor Family . Serving as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Spanish-American War , Astor mainly dealt in real estate which included the original Waldorf-Astoria Hotel . A divorce and marriage to the much younger Madeleine Talmadge Force caused a scandal and he and his new wife took an extended honeymoon abroad to wait out the controversy. Madeleine Astor's pregnancy cut short the trip and they booked passage on board the RMS ''Titanic'' which struck an Iceberg and sank on April 15 , 1912 . John Jacob Astor IV was among the more than 1,500 victims of the sinking. HISTORY John Jacob Astor IV was born at "Ferncliff", the family's estate in Rhinebeck, New York , to William Backhouse Astor, Jr. and Caroline Webster Schermerhorn Astor . John Jacob IV was the great–grandson of John Jacob Astor whose fortune, made in the fur trade and real estate, made the Astor family one of the wealthiest in the United States . Astor attended St Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire , and later attended Harvard University . In 1891 , Astor married Ava Lowle Willing, a Philadelphia Socialite . Together they had two children, William Vincent Astor and Ava Alice Muriel Astor . Among Astor's accomplishments was '' A Journey In Other Worlds '', an 1894 Science Fiction novel titled about a fictional account of life in the year 2000 on the planets Saturn and Jupiter . He also patented several inventions, including a bicycle brake in 1898 , a "vibratory disintegrator" used to produce gas from Peat Moss , a Pneumatic road–improver, and helped develop a Turbine Engine . Astor made millions in real estate and in 1897 , Astor built the Astoria Hotel which adjoined Astor’s cousin, William Waldorf Astor 's, Waldorf Hotel in New York City , the complex became known as the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel . In 1898 Astor was appointed a Lieutenant Colonel of a U.S. volunteers Battalion he financed in Cuba during the Spanish-American War . During this time he allowed his Yacht , the ''Nourmahal'', to be used by the U.S. government. During the war Colonel Astor appeared in the films ''President McKinley's Inspection of Camp Wikoff'' in 1898 and ''Col. John Jacob Astor, Staff and Veterans of the Spanish–American War'' in 1899 . MADELEINE AND THE ''TITANIC'' In 1909 Astor divorced his wife Ava and on September 9 , 1911 married eighteen year–old Madeleine Talmadge Force in his mother's ballroom at Beechwood, the family's Newport, Rhode Island home. The divorce and marriage to Madeleine, who was a year younger than Vincent Astor, caused a scandal and John Jacob IV and Madeleine took an extended honeymoon in Europe and Egypt to wait for the gossip to calm down. While traveling Madeleine became pregnant, and wanting the child born in the United States, the Astors booked first–class passage on the maiden voyage of the , 1912 the ''Titanic'' hit an Iceberg and began sinking. At first Astor didn’t believe the ship was in any serious danger, but later helped his wife into a Lifeboat . He asked if he could join his wife, mentioning her "delicate condition", but the officer in charge said no men until all the women and children were away. Astor reportedly stood back, asked for the lifeboat number, lit a cigarette, and tossed his gloves to Madeleine. John Jacob Astor’s body was recovered by the '' MacKay-Bennett '' on April 22 . Among the items found on him were £225, $2440, and a gold watch which his son, Vincent, claimed and wore the rest of his life. Astor was buried in Trinity Church Cemetery in New York City . On August 14 , 1912 , his second son, John Jacob Astor VI was born. LEGENDS John Jacob Astor's prominence made his actions while the ''Titanic'' was sinking legendary. Many exaggerated and unsubstantiated accounts about what Astor did the night ''Titanic'' sank appeared in newspapers and books after the disaster. Stories included that he was the one who opened ''Titanic'' Astor's fame has made him an often used character in Film s about ''Titanic''. William Johnstone played Astor in the 1953 film '' Titanic '' and in the 1997 '' Titanic '' he was played by Eric Braeden , who was picked for his strong resemblance to Astor. REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS |
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