Prince Ivan Sergeyevich Obolensky (May 15, 1925 – January 29, 2019) was an American

financial analyst A financial analyst is a professional, undertaking financial analysis for external or internal clients as a core feature of the job. The role may specifically be titled securities analyst, research analyst, equity analyst, investment analyst, ...

and corporate officer. He was previously commissioned in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

, serving as a Flight Lieutenant, and had also been a publisher. He died on January 29, 2019.

Early life

Obolensky was born in London, England, on May 15, 1925, to Sergei Platonovich "Serge" Obolensky and

Ava Alice Muriel Astor Ava Alice Muriel Astor (July 7, 1902 – July 19, 1956) was an American heiress, socialite, and member of the Astor family. She was the daughter of John Jacob Astor IV and Ava Lowle Willing, and sister of Vincent Astor and half-sister of John Jac ...

. Paternally, he belonged to the

Obolensky {{For, the rural localities in Kaluga Oblast, Russia, Obolenskoye The House of Obolensky (russian: Оболенский) is the name of a princely Russian family of the Rurik dynasty. The family of aristocrats mostly fled Russia in 1917 during the ...

family of Russian princes who trace their lineage to the

Rurikid The Rurik dynasty ( be, Ру́рыкавічы, Rúrykavichy; russian: Рю́риковичи, Ryúrikovichi, ; uk, Рю́риковичі, Riúrykovychi, ; literally "sons/scions of Rurik"), also known as the Rurikid dynasty or Rurikids, was ...

rulers of Russia who preceded the Romanov emperors. Through his mother, he was a great-great-great-grandson of

John Jacob Astor John Jacob Astor (born Johann Jakob Astor; July 17, 1763 – March 29, 1848) was a German-American businessman, merchant, real estate mogul, and investor who made his fortune mainly in a fur trade monopoly, by smuggling opium into China, and ...

and the elder grandson of

John Jacob Astor IV John Jacob Astor IV (July 13, 1864 – April 15, 1912) was an American business magnate, real estate developer, investor, writer, lieutenant colonel in the Spanish–American War, and a prominent member of the Astor family. He died in the sinki ...

, who died on the RMS ''Titanic'' and is thus, a member of the

Astor family The Astor family achieved prominence in business, society, and politics in the United States and the United Kingdom during the 19th and 20th centuries. With ancestral roots in the Italian Alps region of Italy by way of Germany, the Astors settle ...

. Obolensky was educated at St. George's School in Middletown, Rhode Island, and graduated from

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

, Connecticut, in 1947. While at Yale, he was a member of St. Elmo, a senior

secret society A secret society is a club or an organization whose activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence a ...

Career

After Yale, Obolensky became a writer working for Telavid Inc. Imports, and went on to serve with the

as a pilot. In 1957, he formed a publishing firm McDowell, Obolensky Inc. with a partner, David McDowell. The firm published

James Agee James Rufus Agee ( ; November 27, 1909 – May 16, 1955) was an American novelist, journalist, poet, screenwriter and film critic. In the 1940s, writing for ''Time Magazine'', he was one of the most influential film critics in the United States. ...

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

-winning novel, ''

A Death in the Family ''A Death in the Family'' is an autobiographical novel by author James Agee, set in Knoxville, Tennessee. He began writing it in 1948, but it was not quite complete when he died in 1955 (with reputedly many portions having been written in the hom ...

'' (1957), and was the U.S. publisher for

Chinua Achebe Chinua Achebe (; 16 November 1930 – 21 March 2013) was a Nigerian novelist, poet, and critic who is regarded as the dominant figure of modern African literature. His first novel and ''magnum opus'', ''Things Fall Apart'' (1958), occupies ...

's ''

Things Fall Apart ''Things Fall Apart'' is the debut novel by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe, first published in 1958. It depicts pre-colonial life in the southeastern part of Nigeria and the invasion by Europeans during the late 19th century. It is seen as the ...

'' (1959). It was dissolved in 1960. Obolensky then formed a second publishing house, Ivan Obolensky, Inc. This firm continued through 1965, when he joined the investment banking firm of A. T. Brod & Company as a partner. The publishing house continued until 1968 under the name Astor-Honor. Throughout his main career on

Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for t ...

as a

, Obolensky covered many prestigious accounts. He was Vice President of Moseley, Hallgarten, Estabrook & Weeden Inc.,

Stock brokers A stockbroker is a regulated broker, broker-dealer, or registered investment adviser (in the United States) who may provide financial advisory and investment management services and execute transactions such as the purchase or sale of stocks and ...

and Vice President of Shields & Company. Obolensky was an active member of the philanthropic community in New York. He was, for many years, an active supporter of the

Soldiers', Sailors', Marines', Coast Guard and Airmen's Club The Soldiers', Sailors', Marines', Coast Guard and Airmen's Club was a private social club founded in 1919 and located at 283 Lexington Avenue between East 36th and 37th Streets in the Murray Hill neighborhood of Midtown Manhattan, New York Ci ...

, and New York's

International Debutante Ball The International Debutante Ball is an invitation-only, formal debutante ball, to officially present well-connected young ladies of distinction from upper-class families to high society. Founded in 1954, it occurs every two years at the Waldorf ...

, which benefits the club. He was also Treasurer of the

Russian Nobility Association in America The Russian Nobility Association in America is a non-political, not-for-profit organization in the United States of America. History The Russian Nobility Association in America was founded in New York City in 1933. Its original efforts were to pr ...

, Inc., and the US Prior of the Orthodox Order of St. John.

Personal life

Obolensky first married in New York City on October 10, 1949 to Claire Elizabeth McGinnis (1929–2015). Claire was educated at the Convent of the Sacred Heart in San Francisco, the Finch Junior College in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, and at

Miss Burke's School Katherine Delmar Burke School, commonly known as Burke's, is an independent girls' school for kindergarten through eighth grade, located in the Sea Cliff neighborhood of San Francisco, California, United States, near Lincoln Park. Until 1975 it ...

in San Francisco. She was the daughter of Felix Signoret McGinnis (1883–1945), vice-president of the

Southern Pacific Company Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

, and Clara (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Leonhardt) McGinnis (1887–1984). Before their divorce in 1956, Ivan and Claire were the parents of one daughter and two sons: *Princess Marina "Maria" Ivanovna Obolensky (b. 1951), who married N. Carlton. She later married William D. Folwick (1932–2017). *Prince Ivan Ivanovich Obolensky (b. 1952), who married Mary Jo Smith without issue. *Prince David Ivanovich Obolensky (b. 1953), who married Mary Catherine Hicks (b. 1952) on March 21, 1981. After their divorce, Claire married designer and art advisor Garrick C. Stephenson (1927–2007). On October 22, 1959, Obolensky married for the second time to Mary Elizabeth Morris (1934–2006). Together, they were the parents of one son: *Prince Sergei Ivanovich Obolensky (b. 1960), who married Ceceila Chapman Justice (b. 1956) in 1986.

Descendants

Through his son David, he was the grandfather of Princess Natalya Elizabeth Davidovna Obolensky (b. 1984) and Princess Octavia Willing Davidovna Obolensky (b. 1989). Through his son Serge, he was the grandfather of Prince Alexander Vasily Sergeyevich Obolensky (b. 1994) and Prince Christopher Chapman Sergeyevich Obolensky (b. 1999).

Death

Prince Ivan died on January 29, 2019. His funeral was held at the Church of the Incarnation in New York City.

References

External links

www.ancestry.comwww.ancestry.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Obolensky, Ivan Sergeyevich 1925 births 2019 deaths Rurikids Ivan Sergeyevich Astor family Schermerhorn family Livingston family British emigrants to the United States Yale College alumni St. George's School (Rhode Island) alumni United States Navy officers United States Naval Aviators