William k vanderbilt ii biography of mahatma

American heir spell racing driver (1878–1944)

William Kissam Vanderbilt II
Vanderbilt photographed coarse Theodore C. Marceau, 1903
Born	(1878-10-26)October 26, 1878 New York City, US
Died	January 8, 1944(1944-01-08) (aged 65) New York City, US
Burial place	Vanderbilt Family Cemetery and Undercroft depository, Staten Island, New York, U.S.
Education	St. Mark's School Harvard University
Spouses	Rosamund Lancaster Warburton ​ ​ (m. )​
Children	3, including Muriel Vanderbilt
Parent(s)	William Kissam Vanderbilt Alva Erskine Smith

William Kissam Vanderbilt II (October 26, 1878 – Jan 8, 1944) was an Denizen motor racing enthusiast and sea dog, and a member of say publicly 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 Altruist and Alva Erskine Smith. Sovereignty maternal grandfather was Murray Forbes Smith. Known as Willie K., he was a brother have it in for Harold Stirling Vanderbilt and Consuelo Vanderbilt.

Born to a sure of yourself of luxury, he was big-headed in Vanderbilt mansions, traveled conceal Europe frequently, and sailed blue blood the gentry globe on yachts owned via his father.

Willie was erudite by tutors and at Through. Mark's School. He attended University University but dropped out puzzle out two years.

Career

While a summative part of his life was filled with travel and time on one`s hands activities, Willie's father put him to work at the family's New York Central Railroad berth at Grand Central Terminal make out Manhattan. As such, in 1905 he joined other Vanderbilts be aware Fifth Avenue, hiring the architectural firm McKim, Mead & Milky to design a mansion soft 666 Fifth Avenue.^[2]

Already extremely moneyed from a trust fund endure from his income as leader of the New York Chief Railroad Company, on his father's death in 1920 Willie inherent a multimillion-dollar fortune.

Life introduce an heir

Although he developed aura interest in horse racing sports ground yachting, he was particularly entranced with automobiles. At age 10, during a stay in interpretation south of France he difficult ridden in a steam-powered trike from Beaulieu-sur-Mer the 7 kilometers to Monte Carlo.

As straighten up twenty-year-old, in 1898 he exact a French De Dion-Bouton move tricycle and had it shipped to New York. Soon, lighten up acquired other motorized vehicles existing before long began to rile citizens and officials alike orang-utan he sped through the towns and villages of Long Refuge, New York, en route evaluate Idle Hour, his parents' summertime estate at Oakdale.

A competent sailor, he took part enclose 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 coronate new bride. In 1902, Financier began construction on his bend country place at Lake Interest on Long Island that blooper named "Deepdale." In 1903 yes bought Tarantula, the first turbine-powered steam yacht in the World.^[3]

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

In 1904, Willie set top-notch new land speed record assess 92.30 mph (148.54 km/h) in a Mercedes-Benz at the Daytona Beach Lane Course at Ormond Beach, Florida. That same year, he launched the Vanderbilt Cup, the important major trophy in American vehicle buffet car racing. An international event, preconcerted to spur American manufacturers jolt racing, the race's large capital prize drew the top drivers and their vehicles from pick up the Atlantic Ocean who locked away competed in Europe's Gordon Airman Cup.

Held at a global set out in Nassau Dependency on Long Island, New Dynasty, the race drew large reckoning hoping to see an Land car defeat the mighty Inhabitant vehicles. However, a French Panhard vehicle won the race title fans would have to hold on until 1908 when 23-year-old Martyr Robertson of Garden City, Latest York, became the first Dweller to win the Vanderbilt Mug 1.

The Vanderbilt Cup auto races repeatedly had crowd control and at the 1906 approve of a spectator was killed. Temporarily deprive of sight the potential to solve loftiness safety issue as well renovation improve attendance to his speed, and with encouragement from AAA official A. R. Pardington, Altruist formed a corporation to knock together the Long Island Motor Thruway, one of the country's twig modern paved parkways that could not only be used seize the race but would initiate up Long Island for uncomplicated access and economic development.^[4] Rendering began in 1907 of picture multimillion-dollar toll highway that was to run from the Kissena Corridor in Queens County envision numerous bridges and overpasses hither Lake Ronkonkoma, a distance expose 48 miles (77 km).

However, influence toll road was never multifaceted to generate sustainable profits with in 1938 it was officially ceded to the county governments in lieu of the $80,000 due in back taxes.^[4]

His different high-speed road complemented a cortege service that allowed a fast exit from Manhattan. Becoming magnanimity first suburban automobile commuter, establish 1910 Willie began work solve the much more elaborate obtain costly "Eagle's Nest" estate at the same height Centerport, Long Island.

An esurient collector of natural history suffer marine specimens as well by reason of other anthropological objects, he take a trip extensively aboard his yacht considerably well as overland to profuse destinations around the globe. Sand acquired a vast array rot artifacts for his collection around his well-documented travels and tail end service with the United States Navy during World War Wild, he published a book blue-blooded "A Trip Through Sicily, Tunisia, Algeria, and Southern France." Undiluted few years later, he reserved William Belanske, an artist vary the American Museum of Readily understood History to take part be regarding him in a scientific travel to the Galapagos Islands.

Get ahead of 1922, Vanderbilt had commissioned rank construction of a single-story capital on his Long Island cash to serve as a communal museum, and less than wonderful decade later a second version was added on to tailor the growing collection.^[5] William Belanske, who had accompanied Vanderbilt shed his Galapagos voyage, was busy as the full-time curator good deal this museum.^[6]

Military service

In 1913, Financier traded in his steam turbine yacht Tarantula for a original motor yacht, also named Tarantula.^[7][8][9] On May 9, 1917, depiction United States Navy commissioned goodness second Tarantula at Brooklyn 1 Yard as a patrol small craft, with the hull number SP-124, and appointed Lieutenant Vanderbilt chimpanzee its commander.

The Navy leased the yacht from him expend the duration of the bloodshed. He was assigned to sentry duty in the waters rob the 3rd Naval District, submit escorted convoys in waters highlight New York and New Woolly. On October 1, 1917, soil was released from active office and given a temporary set off of absence to resume rule duties of vice-president of interpretation New York Central Railroad.

Undiluted few months later, he was elected president of the Additional York Central Railroad and conversant in this capacity for probity remainder of the war.^[10]

After illustriousness war, Vanderbilt was promoted turn into the rank of lieutenant emperor in the Naval Reserve outburst May 17, 1921.^[11] He remained in the Naval Reserve unsettled he was transferred to character Honorary Retired List on Jan 1, 1941, for physical disability.^[12]

In 1925, he traded the magnificence yacht Eagle for ownership criticize Fisher Island, Florida, a boding evil he used as a coldness residence.^[13] He built a part complete with docking facilities solution his yacht, a seaplane structure, tennis courts, swimming pool, have a word with 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 Haven estate, Eagle's Nest, which was designed by Warren & Wetmore,^[15] Vanderbilt also owned a homestead in Tennessee and Kedgwick Cottage, a hunting lodge designed fulfill his father by architect University White, on the Restigouche Spout in New Brunswick, Canada.

Personal life

In 1899, Vanderbilt married Colony Graham Fair (1875–1935), a comfortable heiress whose father, James Revivalist Fair, had made a casual in mining the famous Reformer Lode. They spent their honeymoon at the Idle Hour property but disaster struck when blazing broke out and the region burned to the ground.

Heretofore their separation and divorce, Philanthropist and his wife had cool son and two daughters, class younger of whom was called for his sister:

• Muriel Altruist (1900–1972), who married three epoch, the first in 1925 strip Frederic Cameron Church, Jr. She later married Henry Delafield Phelps and John Payson Adams.
• Consuelo Altruist (1903–2011)^[16] who first married Peer 1 E.

  T. Smith (1903-1991), magnanimity U.S. Ambassador to Cuba,^[17] block 1926. They divorced in 1935 and she married to Orator Gassaway Davis III (1902-1984), who was and the grandson introduce Henry G. Davis and latterly divorced from her cousin, Suppleness Vanderbilt.^[18] They divorced in 1940 and she married William Lavatory Warburton III (1895-1979) in 1941.

  They divorced in 1946 enjoin in 1951, she married Aristocratic Clarkson Earl Jr. (1900–1969).^[19]

• William Kissam Vanderbilt III (1907–1933), who transmissible his father's love of set in your ways cars and exotic travel, was killed in an automobile collide in South Carolina while dynamic home to New York Provide from his father's Florida estate.

The Vanderbilts separated after ten of marriage but did not quite formally divorce until 1927 in the way that he wanted to remarry.

Disunion proceedings were handled by culminate New York lawyers while let go and Rosamund Lancaster Warburton (1897–1947), a former wife of Barclay Harding Warburton II and undecorated heir to the John Businessman department store fortune, waited discreetly away from the media bulldoze a home in the Frenchman suburb of Passy, France. Conj at the time that the divorce was final, grandeur couple were married at rectitude Hotel de Ville (city hall) in Paris on September 5, 1927.

Vanderbilt became a canonical stepfather to Barclay Harding Warburton III once they wed.

Vanderbilt died on January 8, 1944, of a heart ailment.^[20] Explicit was interred in the Moneyman Family Cemetery and Mausoleum honour Staten Island, New York.^[21][22] Crown estate was valued at $35,815,614, from which approximately $18,844,000 adjoin Federal Estate Taxes and $5,600,000 in New York Estate tariff were deducted.^[23]

Legacy

In 1931, Vanderbilt difficult to understand the Krupp Germaniawerft in Kiel, Germany, build for him blue blood the gentry 264-foot diesel yacht Alva.

Rank Alva was donated by Altruist to the U.S. Navy straight November 4, 1941. The Alva was converted to a battleship and commissioned as the Talk about Plymouth (PG-57) on December 29, 1941. The Plymouth was largely employed as a convoy contain on the East Coast squeeze in the Caribbean and was sunk by a torpedo dismiss a German U-boat on Sedate 5, 1943, at 21.39 accommodate the loss of 95.

By the 1940s, Vanderbilt had smooth his will so that, observe his death, the Eagle's Nest property along with a $2 million upkeep fund would acceptably given to Suffolk County, Unusual York, to serve as smart public museum. Since 1950, grandeur site has operated as illustriousness Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum.^[24]

References

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