Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 7).djvu/316

270 zerlanil and the south of France, where he remained for nearly a year with his wife and younger chil- dren. He returned home greatly iniin-oved in health and spirits, but unable to talie an active |)ar- tieipation in business affairs. He spent the greater part of his time at his palatial residence, " The Breakers," in Newport, seen in the illustration, making occasional visits to New York city when necessary. It was on one of these visits that the third and final attack came. Among his many pub- lic benefactions was the handsome hall given to Yale university, at a cost of |575,000, as a memo- rial of his eldest son, who was a student there ; the fine building on Madison avenue for the use of railroad employees ; a contribution of $100,000 for the Protestant Episcopal cathedral ; jointly with his mother he erected and fully equipped the St. Bartholomew's parish-house; and to the Metro- politan museum of art he presented a valuable col- lection of drawings by the old masters, also the celebrated painting of the " Horse Fair," by Rosa Bonheur. By his will Mr. Vanderbilt distributed nearly two million dollars in public and private bequests, including |400,000 to St. Bartholomew's church, $100,000 to Yale university, $100,000 to the Young men's Christian association, $50,000 to St. Luke's hospital, $50,000 to the domestic and foreign missions of the Protestant Episcopal church, $50,000 to Vanderbilt university, and to the Metropolitan museum of art Turner's mag- nificent painting of the Grand canal, Venice. — His brother, WilUam Kissam, b. on Staten Is- land, 12 Dec, 1849, succeeded him as head of the Van- derbilt family, a position he had virtually held ever since Cornelius was stricken first by paralysis, in the summer of 1896, at which time William K. assumed direc- tion of all the rail- roads held by Van- derbilt interests. Like his brother he was set to work by his father while yet in his teens. He had, however greater advantages in formal schooling than his brother, for his father sent the younger son abroad for a course of study at a Swiss academy in Geneva. He returned to the United States at the age of nineteen, and entered the service of the New York Central railroad as a clerk in the oflice of the treas- urer. His grandfather, the "commodore," and his father gave him plainly to understand that he was to receive no undue consideration, and that his advancement would depend entirely upon his own efforts and the return he made of liis talents. He settled down to work, and applied himself with dili- gence sufficient to warrant his promotion. In the uneventful days of his clerkship he bore himself much as in the later days, when his word was law in his own sphere. Somewhat more reserved and taciturn by nature than his elder brother, Corne- lius, he toiled at his desk, self-contained, dignified toward his fellow-clerks, respectful toward his sujie- riors, but ever a steady worker, aecurate, attentive, and always punctual. After a period of service in the office of the treasurer he was transferred to the traffic department of the road, where he made a close personal investigation of the methods and de- tails of the department. His course received the approval of his father, who showed his appreciation by making the son a director in several of the Van- derbilt railroads. His first office of prominence came in 1877, when he was made second vice-presi- dent of the New York Central and Hudson river railroad company. In this position he looked after especially the bonded interests of the company. When his father retired from active business in 1883, William K. became chairman of the board of directors of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern railway, his brother, Cornelius, becoming chairman of the directors of the New York Central and of the Michigan Central. When the Vanderbilts bought the New York, Chicago and St. Louis rail- way he became its financial head. He was chosen also a director in each of the lines in the Vander- bilt system. In 1882 he became president of tlie Nickel Plate road.

About this time he took an interest in stock transactions in Wall street. A man of tireless energy, he must take an active part in whatever occupies his attention. His stock operations, there- fore, were planned on a large scale, and he made some daring and brilliant moves. He was cor- nered at last, however, and was obliged to have re- course to his father for help out of his difficulties. After this experience he gave up operations in Wall street, and confined his financial energies strictly to railroad interests. He carried this same forceful driving into whatever he undertook, and when he built a town-house in New York city he reared a structure characteristic of the builder in its strength and beauty of outline, one of the show-places of the city. His home at Newport, R. I., known as the Marble House, is similar to the other in its strik- ing qualities, and his country-house at Islip, Long Island, gave one more evidence of the pervading influence of the builder. He built a yacht which he named "Alva," after his wife, and when this vessel was sunk he built another, the "Valiant," one of the finest pleasure-yachts afloat, in which he made many trips to Europe and to other parts of the world. He has been also a member of most of the syndicates organized to build racing yachts in defence of the "America's" cup. A traveller of no mean experience, when he visited Russia he made his tour in a private train, a thing which until that time had seemed almost a pre- rogative of royalty in that country. Like liis father and grandfather he had a fondness for horses, maintaining an extensive stable, but allow- ing none of his horses to appear on a public race- course in this country. He is, however, a liberal patron of the American jockey club. Together with this love for travel, adventure, yachts, and horses goes an earnest and equally discriminating love for art in its various forms and for rare books. Contrasted with his brother in bearing and de- meanor, he differs also in his attitude toward the conduct of the business enterprises in which both were engaged. Cornelius was a man for whom no detail was too small nor no question too trivial, while William K. is contented to apply himself to the larger aspects of the question in hand, leaving the details to be carried out by subordinates in the manner that appears best to each individual officer, insisting, however, that the end attained be along the general lines he has laid down. This he can do safely, for one reason, because of the rare discrim- ination he has exercised in the selection of men to carry out these larger ideas of h is own conception. When Cornelius Vanderbilt was stricken down, in the summer of 1896, by his first attack of paraly-