Harold Stirling Vanderbilt
CBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(July 6, 1884 – July 4, 1970) was an American railroad executive, a champion
yachtsman
A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...
, an innovator and champion player of
contract bridge
Contract bridge, or simply bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard 52-card deck. In its basic format, it is played by four players in two competing partnerships, with partners sitting opposite each other around a table. Millions ...
, and a member of the
Vanderbilt family
The Vanderbilt family is an American family who gained prominence during the Gilded Age. Their success began with the shipping and railroad empires of Cornelius Vanderbilt, and the family expanded into various other areas of industry and philanthr ...
.
Early life
He was born in
Oakdale, New York
Oakdale is a hamlet (and census-designated place) in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 7,974 at the 2010 census. Oakdale is in the Town of Islip. It has been home to Gilded Age mansions, the South Side Sportsmen's Clu ...
, the third child of
William Kissam Vanderbilt
William Kissam "Willie" Vanderbilt I (December 12, 1849 – July 22, 1920) was an American heir, businessman, philanthropist and horsebreeder. Born into the Vanderbilt family, he managed his family's railroad investments.
Early life
William Kiss ...
and
Alva Erskine Smith. To family and friends he was known as "Mike". His siblings were
William Kissam Vanderbilt II
William Kissam Vanderbilt II (October 26, 1878 – January 8, 1944) was an American motor racing enthusiast and yachtsman, and a member of the prominent Vanderbilt family.
Early life
He was born on October 26, 1878, in New York City, the seco ...
and
Consuelo Vanderbilt
Consuelo Vanderbilt-Balsan (formerly Consuelo Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough; born Consuelo Vanderbilt; March 2, 1877 – December 6, 1964) was a socialite and a member of the prominent American Vanderbilt family. Her first marriage ...
.
His maternal grandfather was
Murray Forbes Smith
Murray Forbes Smith (July 21, 1814 – May 4, 1875) was an American commission merchant best known as the father of Alva Belmont.
Early life
Smith was born on July 21, 1814 in Dumfries, Virginia. He was a son of Edinburgh born George Smith (1765 ...
. As the great-grandson of the shipping and railroad tycoon
Cornelius Vanderbilt
Cornelius Vanderbilt (May 27, 1794 – January 4, 1877), nicknamed "the Commodore", was an American business magnate who built his wealth in railroads and shipping. After working with his father's business, Vanderbilt worked his way into lead ...
, he was born to great wealth and privilege; as a child he was raised in
Vanderbilt mansions
From the late 1870s to the 1920s, the Vanderbilt family employed some of the United States's best Beaux-Arts architects and decorators to build an unequalled string of townhouses in New York City and East Coast palaces in the United States. Many ...
, traveled frequently to Europe, and sailed the world on yachts owned by his father. His nephew,
Barclay Harding Warburton III, founded the
American Sail Training Association.
Vanderbilt was educated by tutors and at
private school
Private or privates may refer to:
Music
* " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation''
* Private (band), a Denmark-based band
* "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
s in Massachusetts, including
St. Mark's School,
Harvard College
Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...
(AB 1907), and
Harvard Law School, which he attended from 1907 to 1910.
Career
After Harvard Law, he joined the
New York Central Railroad
The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Mid ...
, the centerpiece of his family's vast railway empire, of which his father was president.
On his father's death in 1920, Harold inherited a fortune that included the
Idle Hour
Idle Hour is a former Vanderbilt estate that is located in Oakdale on Long Island in Suffolk County, New York. It was completed in 1901 for William Kissam Vanderbilt. Once part of Dowling College, the mansion is one of the largest houses in t ...
country estate at
Oakdale, New York
Oakdale is a hamlet (and census-designated place) in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 7,974 at the 2010 census. Oakdale is in the Town of Islip. It has been home to Gilded Age mansions, the South Side Sportsmen's Clu ...
(on
Long Island) and equity in several railway companies, including
Detroit, Toledo &
Milwaukee Railroad
The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), often referred to as the "Milwaukee Road" , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwest and Northwest of the United States from 1847 until 1986.
The company experienced ...
, the
Genesee Falls Railway, the
Kanawha and Michigan Railway Kanawha may refer to:
Places
* Kanawha River in West Virginia, joining the Ohio River at Point Pleasant
** Kanawha Falls, a waterfall on the Kanawha River
** Kanawha Falls, West Virginia, an unincorporated community in Fayette County near the wate ...
, the
Kanawha and West Virginia Railroad Kanawha may refer to:
Places
* Kanawha River in West Virginia, joining the Ohio River at Point Pleasant
** Kanawha Falls, a waterfall on the Kanawha River
** Kanawha Falls, West Virginia, an unincorporated community in Fayette County near the wat ...
, the
New Jersey Junction Railroad
The New Jersey Junction Railroad (NJJ) was part of the New York Central Railroad and ran along the Hudson River in Hudson County, New Jersey, from the West Shore Railroad (NYCRR) yards at Weehawken Terminal south to Jersey City. It later owne ...
, the
New York Central Railroad
The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Mid ...
, the
New York and Harlem Railroad and the
Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad
The Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad (P&LE) , also known as the "Little Giant", was formed on May 11, 1875. Company headquarters were located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The line connected Pittsburgh in the east with Youngstown, Ohio in the ...
.
Following the death of his brother William in 1944, he remained the only active representative of the Vanderbilt family involved with the New York Central Railroad. He served as a director and member of the executive committee until 1954, when the New York Central was subjected to a hostile takeover by business tycoon
Robert R. Young.
Young committed suicide four years later.
World War I
Vanderbilt nearly lost his yacht, the ''Vagrant'', on Britain's entry into the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. The British competitor for the 1914 America's Cup, ''
Shamrock IV'', was crossing the Atlantic with the steam yacht ''Erin'', destined for
Bermuda
)
, anthem = "God Save the King"
, song_type = National song
, song = "Hail to Bermuda"
, image_map =
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, when Britain declared war on Germany on August 5, 1914. The British crews received word of the declaration of war by radio. As the commodore of the New York Yacht Club, Vanderbilt sent the ''Vagrant'' from
Rhode Island
Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...
to Bermuda to meet the ''Shamrock IV'' and ''Erin'', and to escort them to the US. Meanwhile, among the first things done in Bermuda on the declaration was to remove all maritime navigational aids. The ''Vagrant'' arrived on the 8th. Having no radio, the crew were unaware of the declaration of war and finding all of the buoys and other navigational markers missing, they attempted to pick their own way in through the Narrows, the channel that threads through the
barrier reef
A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups.
Co ...
. This took them directly to the fore of
St. David's Battery, where the gunners were on a war footing and opened fire. This was just a warning shot, which had the desired effect. The ''Shamrock IV'' and ''Erin'' arrived the next day. The America's Cup was cancelled for that year.
In March 1917, Vanderbilt was commissioned a lieutenant (junior grade) in the
United States Naval Reserve
The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Se ...
. When the United States entered World War I, he was called to active duty on April 9, 1917 and assigned as commanding officer of the scout patrol boat
USS ''Patrol No. 8'' (SP-56), which operated out of
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Yor ...
. He was reassigned on July 20 to command the
Block Island, Rhode Island, anti-submarine sector and on November 17 the
New London, Connecticut
New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decade ...
, sector. While at Block Island, one of his subordinates was Chief Machinist Mate
Harold June who would go on to serve as a pilot with Commander (later admiral)
Richard E. Byrd
Richard Evelyn Byrd Jr. (October 25, 1888 – March 11, 1957) was an American naval officer and explorer. He was a recipient of the Medal of Honor, the highest honor for valor given by the United States, and was a pioneering American aviator, p ...
's 1929 Antarctic Expedition. June was one of four men who were aboard the first aircraft to fly over the
South Pole
The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole, Terrestrial South Pole or 90th Parallel South, is one of the two points where Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on Earth and lies antipod ...
. Upon Vanderbilt's reassignment, the officers and men of the Block Island sector presented him with an engraved naval officer's sword as a token of their esteem. The sword is now displayed at the
Marble House
Marble House, a Gilded Age mansion located at 596 Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island, was built from 1888 to 1892 as a summer cottage for Alva and William Kissam Vanderbilt and was designed by Richard Morris Hunt in the Beaux Arts style ...
in Newport.
On July 17, 1918, he was reassigned to the US Navy forces in Europe and reported to Submarine Chaser Detachment 3 at
Queenstown, Ireland
Cobh ( ,), known from 1849 until 1920 as Queenstown, is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Ireland. With a population of around 13,000 inhabitants, Cobh is on the south side of Great Island in Cork Harbour and home to Ireland's ...
, in August. He served with Detachment 3 until the unit was disbanded on November 25, 1918 – shortly after the
Armistice
An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...
was signed. He was placed on inactive duty December 30, 1918, and was promoted to lieutenant on February 26, 1919, retroactive to September 21, 1918. He was discharged from the Naval Reserve on March 26, 1921.
Sailing career
As a boy, Harold Vanderbilt spent part of his summers at the Vanderbilt mansions—the Idle Hour estate in Long Island, New York, on the banks of the
Connetquot River
The Connetquot River (also known as Great River) is a river in Islip, New York. It is one of the four longest rivers on Long Island and is recognized by the state as a Wild, Scenic and Recreational River. It is particularly known for its broo ...
;
Marble House
Marble House, a Gilded Age mansion located at 596 Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island, was built from 1888 to 1892 as a summer cottage for Alva and William Kissam Vanderbilt and was designed by Richard Morris Hunt in the Beaux Arts style ...
at
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Yor ...
; and later at
Belcourt, the Newport mansion of his stepfather,
Oliver Belmont
Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont (November 12, 1858 – June 10, 1908) was an American banker, socialite, and politician who served one term as a United States Representative from New York from 1901 to 1903.
Belmont was a member of the banking firm o ...
. As an adult, he pursued his interest in yachting, winning six
King's Cups and five
Astor Cups at
regattas between 1922 and 1938. He served as commodore of the
New York Yacht Club
The New York Yacht Club (NYYC) is a private social club and yacht club based in New York City and Newport, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1844 by nine prominent sportsmen. The members have contributed to the sport of yachting and yacht design. ...
from 1922 to 1924.
In 1925, he built his own luxurious vacation home at
Palm Beach, Florida, that he called "El Solano". (
John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
, formerly of
the Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...
, purchased it shortly before his
1980 murder.)
Vanderbilt achieved the pinnacle of
yacht racing
Yacht racing is a sailing sport involving sailing yachts and larger sailboats, as distinguished from dinghy racing, which involves open boats. It is composed of multiple yachts, in direct competition, racing around a course marked by buoys or ...
in 1930 by defending the
America's Cup in the
J-class yacht
A J-Class yacht (sometimes called a "J-boat") is a single-masted racing yacht built to the specifications of Nathanael Herreshoff's Universal Rule. The J-Class are considered the peak racers of the era when the Universal Rule determined eligib ...
''
Enterprise
Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to:
Business and economics
Brands and enterprises
* Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company
* Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company
* Enterpris ...
''. His victory put him on the cover of the September 15, 1930, issue of ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
'' magazine (see image above). In 1934 Harold faced a dangerous challenger from the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, ''
Endeavour'', owned by the aviation pioneer and industrialist
Thomas Sopwith
Sir Thomas Octave Murdoch Sopwith, CBE, Hon FRAeS (18 January 1888 – 27 January 1989) was an English aviation pioneer, businessman and yachtsman.
Early life
Sopwith was born in Kensington, London, on 18 January 1888. He was the e ...
. ''Endeavour'' won the first two races but Vanderbilt's ''
Rainbow
A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...
'' then won four races in a row and successfully defended the Cup. In 1937 he won again in ''Ranger'', the last of the J-class yachts to defend the Cup. He was posthumously elected to the
America's Cup Hall of Fame The America's Cup Hall of Fame, located at the Herreshoff Marine Museum of Bristol, Rhode Island, USA, honors individuals for outstanding achievement in the America's Cup sailing competition. Candidates eligible for consideration include skippers ...
in 1993.
In the fall of 1935, Harold began a study of the yacht racing rules with three friends:
Philip Roosevelt, president of the North American Yacht Racing Union (predecessor to
US Sailing
The United States Sailing Association (US Sailing) is the national governing body for sailing in the United States. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Bristol, Rhode Island, US Sailing is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization. US Sailing offers t ...
);
Van Santvoord Merle-Smith, president of the Yacht Racing Association of Long Island Sound; and Henry H. Anderson. "The four men began by attempting to take the right-of-way rules as they were and amending them. After about six weeks of intensive effort, they finally concluded that they were getting exactly nowhere. It was the basic principles, not the details, that were causing the problems. They would have to start from scratch."
In 1936, Vanderbilt, with assistance from the other three had developed an alternative set of rules, printed them, and mailed a copy to every yachtsman that he knew personally or by name in both the United States and England. These were virtually ignored, but a second edition in 1938 was improved, as were following versions. Vanderbilt continued to work with the various committees of the North American Yacht Racing Union until finally in 1960 the International Yacht Racing Union (predecessor to the International Sailing Federation or ISAF) adopted the rules that Vanderbilt and the Americans had developed over the previous quarter century.
Bridge
Vanderbilt was also a card game enthusiast. In 1925, while on board
SS ''Finland'', he originated changes to the scoring system through which the game of
contract bridge
Contract bridge, or simply bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard 52-card deck. In its basic format, it is played by four players in two competing partnerships, with partners sitting opposite each other around a table. Millions ...
supplanted
auction bridge
The card game auction bridge was the third step in the evolution of the general game of bridge. It was developed from bridge whist in 1904, possibly by 1900. Auction bridge was the precursor to contract bridge. Its predecessors were whist and brid ...
in popularity. Three years later he endowed the
Vanderbilt Cup
The Vanderbilt Cup was the first major trophy in American auto racing.
History
An international event, it was founded by William Kissam Vanderbilt II in 1904 and first held on October 8 on a course set out in Nassau County on Long Island, ...
awarded to the winners of the North American championship (now the Vanderbilt Knockout Teams, or simply "the Vanderbilt", one of the
North American Bridge Championships
North American Bridge Championships (NABC) are three annual bridge tournaments sponsored by the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL). The "Spring", "Summer", and "Fall" NABCs are usually scheduled in March, July, and November for about eleven da ...
marquee events). In 1932 and again in 1940 he was part of a team that won his own trophy; it remains one of the most prized in the game. Vanderbilt also donated the
World Bridge Federation Vanderbilt Trophy, awarded from 1960 to 2004 to the winner of the open category at the quadrennial
World Team Olympiad
The World Team Olympiad was a contract bridge meet organized by the World Bridge Federation every four years from 1960 to 2004. Its main events were world championships for national teams, always including one open and one restricted to women ("O ...
, and since 2008 to the winner of the corresponding event at the
World Mind Sports Games
The World Mind Sports Games (WMSG) was a multi-sport event created by the International Mind Sports Association (IMSA) as a "stepping stone on the path of introducing a third kind of Olympic Games" after the Summer and the Winter Olympics".
The i ...
.
Vanderbilt invented the first , which he called the "Club Convention" but which has since become more usually known as the
Vanderbilt Club
Vanderbilt Club was one of the earliest bidding systems in the game of contract bridge. It was devised by Harold S. Vanderbilt, who had in 1925 devised the game itself. It was published by him in 1929. It was the first strong club system. An up ...
. The strong club, or forcing club, family of has performed exceptionally well in world championship play. He wrote four books on the subject.
Vanderbilt,
Ely Culbertson
Elie Almon Culbertson (July 22, 1891 – December 27, 1955), known as Ely Culbertson, was an American contract bridge entrepreneur and personality dominant during the 1930s. He played a major role in the popularization of the new game and was wide ...
, and
Charles Goren
Charles Henry Goren (March 4, 1901 – April 3, 1991) was an American bridge player and writer who significantly developed and popularized the game. He was the leading American bridge personality in the 1950s and 1960s – or 1940s and 1950s, as " ...
were the three people named when ''
The Bridge World
''The Bridge World'' (TBW), the oldest continuously published magazine about contract bridge, was founded in 1929 by Ely Culbertson. It has since been regarded as the game's principal journal, publicizing technical advances in bidding and the pla ...
'' inaugurated a bridge "hall of fame" in 1964 and they were made founding members of the
ACBL Hall of Fame in 1995.
[
In 1969, the World Bridge Federation (WBF) made Vanderbilt its first honorary member. In 1969, he became a WBF Honorary Member, and was inducted into the ACBL Hall of Fame in 1964.]["Induction by Year"]
''Hall of Fame''. ACBL. Retrieved 2014-12-22.["Vanderbilt, Harold"]
. ''Hall of Fame''. ACBL. Retrieved 2014-12-30.In 1941, he was made ACBL Honorary Member of the Year and won the Wetzlar Trophy in 1940.
He won the North American Bridge Championships
North American Bridge Championships (NABC) are three annual bridge tournaments sponsored by the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL). The "Spring", "Summer", and "Fall" NABCs are usually scheduled in March, July, and November for about eleven da ...
twice and the Vanderbilt twice, the first in 1932 and the last in 1940. He was a runner-up at the North American Bridge Championships
North American Bridge Championships (NABC) are three annual bridge tournaments sponsored by the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL). The "Spring", "Summer", and "Fall" NABCs are usually scheduled in March, July, and November for about eleven da ...
and during the Vanderbilt in 1937.
Later life
In 1930, after a property dispute with the Town of Palm Beach, Florida, Vanderbilt moved several miles south to an undeveloped area called Manalapan, where he purchased 500 feet of oceanfront property and built a mansion called Eastover. In 1931, he filed papers to incorporate the Town of Manalapan and became the Town's first mayor, serving from 1952 until 1966. He was a town councilman for 32 years and was called "mayor emeritus" when he retired from public service. In 1934, his sister, Consuelo Vanderbilt Balsan, built her own mansion on Hypoluxo Island, across the water from Eastover.
In addition to sailing, Vanderbilt was a licensed pilot, and in 1938 he acquired a Sikorsky S-43
The Sikorsky S-43 (sometimes referred to as the Baby Clipper) was a 1930s American twin-engine amphibious flying boat monoplane produced by Sikorsky Aircraft.
Design and development
The S-43 first flew in 1935, and was a smaller version of the ...
"Flying Boat".
At the outbreak of the Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
, Vanderbilt's yachts ''Vagrant'' and ''Vara'', which was under construction, were seized by the United States Navy. The ''Vagrant'' was designated as YP-258 and later as PYc-30. Navy official Edmond J. Moran met with Vanderbilt in New York, to present him with a check for $300,000 as compensation for the ''Vara''. Upon receiving the check, Vanderbilt signed it over to the USO
The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...
, so the money could be used to benefit servicemen. The ''Vara'' was completed, renamed as the USS ''Valiant'', and designated as PC-509 (later as PYc-51).
Personal life
Vanderbilt married Gertrude Lewis Conaway, of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
, in 1933. They had no children.
Death and burial
Harold Stirling Vanderbilt died on July 4, 1970. Ironically, this was only two weeks after the Penn Central Railroad
The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals (the Pennsylvania, New York Central and the ...
, successor to the New York Central Railroad, had declared bankruptcy (on June 21, 1970). He and his wife are interred at Saint Mary's Episcopal Cemetery in Portsmouth, Rhode Island
Portsmouth is a town in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 17,871 at the 2020 U.S. census. Portsmouth is the second-oldest municipality in Rhode Island, after Providence; it was one of the four colonies which merged ...
, their graves marked with only simple flat stones. It is uncertain why he chose to be buried in Rhode Island rather than in the Vanderbilt family mausoleum on Staten Island. It is noteworthy, however, that he is buried in the same cemetery as his business rival Robert R. Young.
Legacy
Harold Vanderbilt had a keen interest in the success of Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...
in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...
, founded in 1873 through the financial sponsorship of his great-grandfather. A longtime member of the university's Board of Trust, he served as its president between 1955 and 1968.[ He helped guide the institution through a time in history when racial integration of the student body was a divisive and explosive issue. In 1962, Vanderbilt attended one of the first meetings of the Vanderbilt Sailing Club and provided funding for the club to purchase its first fleet of dinghies, ]Penguins
Penguins (order Sphenisciformes , family Spheniscidae ) are a group of aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is found north of the Equator. Highly adapt ...
. The university annually offers several scholarships named in his honor, and on the grounds in front of Buttrick Hall, a statue designed by Joseph Kiselewski
Joseph A. Kiselewski (1901– February 26, 1988) was an American sculptor.
Biography
Kiselewski was born in Browerville, Minnesota and graduated from the Minneapolis School of Art. Along with many other artists of the time, Kiselewski moved to Ne ...
was erected in his honor.
In 1947, Vanderbilt was invested as an honorary Commander of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...
(CBE) by King George VI. The letters patent conferring the honor on him (signed by Queen Mary in her capacity as grand master of the order) and the insignia of the order are on display in the Trophy Room at the Marble House
Marble House, a Gilded Age mansion located at 596 Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island, was built from 1888 to 1892 as a summer cottage for Alva and William Kissam Vanderbilt and was designed by Richard Morris Hunt in the Beaux Arts style ...
summer estate in Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Yor ...
.
In 1963, Vanderbilt assisted the Preservation Society of Newport County
The Preservation Society of Newport County is a private, non-profit organization based in Newport, Rhode Island. It is Rhode Island's largest and most-visited cultural organization. The organization protects the architectural heritage of Newpor ...
in acquiring Marble House
Marble House, a Gilded Age mansion located at 596 Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island, was built from 1888 to 1892 as a summer cottage for Alva and William Kissam Vanderbilt and was designed by Richard Morris Hunt in the Beaux Arts style ...
in Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Yor ...
, which his mother had sold more than 30 years earlier. Their bid was successful, and the property was converted into a museum that has been open to the public since the mid-1960s and holds documents and artifacts related to his life.
A sailing drink, Stirling Punch, was named in Vanderbilt's honor.
Vanderbilt's private railroad car, New York Central 3, was renovated and has operated luxury charter trips at the rear of regularly-scheduled Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...
and Via Rail Canada
Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via, is a Canadian Crown corporation that is mandated to operate intercity passenger rail service in Canada. It receives an annual subsidy from Transport Canada to offset the cost of operating ...
trains.
Vanderbilt was inducted into the National Sailing Hall of Fame The National Sailing Hall of Fame is a nonprofit educational organization that promotes sailing and racing by recognizing individuals who have contributed to the sport, highlighting sailing's contribution to the American culture; and demonstrating i ...
in 2011. He was inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame in 2014.
Publications
* ''Contract Bridge: Bidding and the Club Convention'' (New York and London, Charles Scribner's Sons
Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner's or Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing American authors including Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Marjorie Kinnan R ...
, 1929), 251 pp.
: With "Laws of Contract Bridge, 1927, reprinted by permission of ... the Whist club: pp. 207–36."
* ''The New Contract Bridge: Club Convention Bidding and Forcing Overbids'' (Scribner, 1930), 333 pp.
* ''Enterprise: The Story of the Defense of the America's Cup in 1930'' (Scribner, 1931), 230 pp.
* "Contract by Hand Analysis: a synopsis of 1933 club convention bidding" (''The Bridge World
''The Bridge World'' (TBW), the oldest continuously published magazine about contract bridge, was founded in 1929 by Ely Culbertson. It has since been regarded as the game's principal journal, publicizing technical advances in bidding and the pla ...
'', 1933), 165 pp.
* ''On the Wind's Highway: Ranger, Rainbow and Racing'' (Scribner, 1939), 259 pp.
* ''The Club Convention System of Bidding at Contract Bridge, As Modernized by Harold S. Vanderbilt'' (Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1964), 160 pp.''The Club Convention System of Bidding at Contract Bridge''
LCC. Retrieved 2014-05-31.
Notes
References
;Other sources
*''Time''. September 15, 1930.
*
*
*"''Sailing World'' Hall of Fame", ''Sailing World''. April 24, 2002.
External links
*
America's Cup Hall of Fame
Vanderbilt's private rail car
* (including 1 "from old catalog")
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vanderbilt, Harold Stirling
1884 births
1970 deaths
American male sailors (sport)
America's Cup sailors
20th-century American railroad executives
American contract bridge players
Contract bridge writers
Harold Stirling
American socialites
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St. Mark's School (Massachusetts) alumni
People from Oakdale, New York
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