Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)/Astor, John Jacob (capitalist)

ASTOR, JOHN JACOB, an American capitalist, born in Rhinebeck, N. Y., July 13, 1864; great grandson of John Jacob, graduated from Harvard University in 1888. In 1897 he built the Astoria Hotel in New York, adjoining the Waldorf Hotel, which had been built by his cousin, William Waldorf Astor, and subsequently the two were united under the name of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. He was appointed Colonel on the staff of Gov. Morton; was commissioned a Lieutenant-Colonel of Volunteers in May, 1898, and served on inspection and staff duty in the United States and Cuba till the surrender of Santiago. He published &ldquo;A Journey

to Other Worlds&rdquo;; &ldquo;A Romance of the Future&rdquo; (1894). Died in the wreck of the &ldquo;Titanic,&rdquo; April 15, 1912.

Source: Collier's New Encyclopedia 1. (1921) New York: P.F. Collier & Son Company. 313-314.