John McEntee Bowman (1875 – October 28, 1931) was a Canadian-born businessman,

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

ier and horseman, and the founding president of Bowman-Biltmore Hotels Corp.
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Biography

Born in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Bowman began his American working life in a men's clothing store in

Yonkers, New York Yonkers () is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. Developed along the Hudson River, it is the third most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City and Buffalo. The population of Yonkers was 211,569 as enu ...

, but learned the hotel business at

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

's Holland House Hotel. When the owner died in 1913, Bowman bought his new Biltmore hotel from his estate and built it into a chain of one of the most recognized hotel names in the world. Bowman was responsible for the building of the

Westchester Country Club Westchester Country Club is a private country club located in Town of Harrison, New York. Founded in 1922 as destination for sportsmen, it was known to professional golf players and spectators for more than four decades as the home of the "Westche ...

Rye, New York Rye is a coastal suburb of New York City in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is separate from the Town of Rye, which has more land area than the city. The City of Rye, formerly the Village of Rye, was part of the Town until it r ...

, and counted the

Coral Gables Biltmore Hotel The Miami Biltmore Hotel (commonly called The Biltmore Hotel or The Biltmore) is a luxury hotel in Coral Gables, Florida. The hotel was designed by Schultze and Weaver and was built in 1926 by John McEntee Bowman and George Merrick as part of the ...

Coral Gables, Florida Coral Gables, officially City of Coral Gables, is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city is located southwest of Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 U.S. census, it had a population of 49,248. Coral Gables is known globally as home to the ...

, the

Millennium Biltmore Hotel The Millennium Biltmore Hotel, originally the Los Angeles Biltmore of the Bowman-Biltmore Hotels group, is a luxury hotel located opposite Pershing Square in Downtown Los Angeles, California. Upon its grand opening in 1923, the Los Angeles Biltmor ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, the

New York Biltmore Hotel The New York Biltmore Hotel was a luxury hotel at 335 Madison Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The hotel was developed by the New York Central Railroad and the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad and operated from 1913 to 1981. ...

in New York City and the Sevilla-Biltmore Hotel in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

, as part of his extensive hotel holdings. A horse lover and

Thoroughbred racing Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing i ...

enthusiast, Bowman was president of the United Hunts Racing Association and the National Horse Show and for a time served as the president of the Havana-American Jockey Club that operated the

Oriental Park Racetrack Oriental Park Racetrack in Marianao, Havana, Cuba, was a thoroughbred horse-racing facility operated during the winter by the Havana-American Jockey Club of Cuba. Founded in 1915, Oriental Park was the only race track in Cuba in the days before ...

Marianao, Cuba Marianao is one of the 15 municipalities or boroughs (''municipios'' in Spanish) in the city of Havana, Cuba. It lies 6 miles southwest of the original city of Havana, with which it is connected by the Marianao railway. In 1989 the municipality had ...

. Bowman died in

Manhattan, New York 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 ...

, at the age of 56, after an operation to remove

gallstone A gallstone is a calculus (medicine), stone formed within the gallbladder from precipitated bile components. The term cholelithiasis may refer to the presence of gallstones or to any disease caused by gallstones, and choledocholithiasis refers to ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowman, John Mcentee 1875 births 1931 deaths American hoteliers Bowman-Biltmore Hotels American horse racing industry executives People from Old Toronto Canadian emigrants to the United States