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 Kissam Vanderbilt I was born on December 12, 1849, in New Dorp, Staten Island in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. His parents were Maria Louisa Kissam (1821–1896) and William Henry Vanderbilt (1821–1885), the eldest son of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, an heir to his fortune and a prominent member of the Vanderbilt family who was the richest American after he took over his father's fortune in 1877 until his own death in 1885. He was the third of eight children born to his parents. His siblings were Cornelius Vanderbilt II (1843–1899),

Margaret Louisa Vanderbilt Margaret Louisa Vanderbilt Shepard (New Dorp, July 23, 1845 – Manhattan, March 3, 1924) was an American heiress and a member of the prominent Vanderbilt family. As a philanthropist, she funded the YMCA, helping create a hotel for guests of the o ...

(1845–1924),

Emily Thorn Vanderbilt Emily Thorn Vanderbilt (January 31, 1852 – July 28, 1946) was an American philanthropist and a member of the prominent Vanderbilt family. She financed the creation of New York's Sloane Hospital for Women in 1888 with an endowment of more than $1 ...

(1852–1946), Florence Adele Vanderbilt (1854–1952), Frederick William Vanderbilt (1856–1938), Eliza Osgood Vanderbilt (1860–1936) and George Washington Vanderbilt II (1862–1914).

Career

Vanderbilt inherited $55 million (equal to about $ billion today) from his father. He managed his family railroad investments. In 1879, after taking over

P. T. Barnum Phineas Taylor Barnum (; July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891) was an American showman, businessman, and politician, remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and founding the Barnum & Bailey Circus (1871–2017) with James Anthony Bailey. He was ...

's Great Roman Hippodrome which was on railroad property by Madison Square Park, he renamed the facility

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

Thoroughbred horse racing

Vanderbilt was one of the founders of The Jockey Club. He was a shareholder and president of the

Sheepshead Bay Race Track Sheepshead Bay Race Track was an American Thoroughbred horse racing facility built on the site of the Coney Island Jockey Club at Sheepshead Bay, New York. Early history The racetrack was built by a group of prominent businessmen from the New Yo ...

in Brooklyn, New York and the owner of a successful racing stable. In 1896, he built the American Horse Exchange at

50th Street (Manhattan) 50th Street is a street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The street runs eastbound from 12th Avenue, across the full width of the island, ending at Beekman Place and carries the M50 bus line, which returns on 49th Street. The follow ...

and Broadway. In 1911 he leased it (and eventually sold it to) the Shubert Organization who then transformed it into the Winter Garden Theatre. After his divorce from Alva, he moved to France where he built a château and established the

Haras du Quesnay Haras du Quesnay, known as "Le Quesnay", is a thoroughbred horse breeding farm in France about four miles (6 km) outside the city of Deauville on 3 km². Early years The stud was established in 1907 by wealthy American sportsman William Kissam V ...

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

stable A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...

and

breeding Breeding is sexual reproduction that produces offspring, usually animals or plants. It can only occur between a male and a female animal or plant. Breeding may refer to: * Animal husbandry, through selected specimens such as dogs, horses, and rab ...

farm near Deauville in France's famous horse region of Lower Normandy. Among the horses he owned was the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame

filly A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, t ...

Maskette Maskette (1906–1930) was an American Thoroughbred Hall of Fame racehorse who never lost a race against other fillies. Background Bred by James R. Keene at his Castleton Farm near Lexington, Kentucky, Maskette was trained by future Hall of ...

, purchased from Castleton Farm in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

for broodmare services at his French breeding farm. Vanderbilt's horses won a number of important races in France including: *

Critérium de Maisons-Laffitte The Critérium de Maisons-Laffitte is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to two-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run at Chantilly over a distance of 1,200 metres (about 6 furlongs), and it is sched ...

: Prestige (1905), Northeast (1907), Montrose II (1911) * Critérium de Saint-Cloud: Illinois II (1901), Marigold (1902) *

Grand Critérium Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and commun ...

: Prestige (1905), Montrose II (1911) * Grand Prix de Deauville: Turenne (1904),

Maintenon Maintenon () is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located southwest of the center of Paris. Maintenon, together with the neighbouring commune of Pierres, form an urban area of 7,075 inhabitants (2017).Grand Prix de Paris: Northeast (1908), Brumelli (1917) * Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud: Maintenon (1906), Sea Sick (1908), Oversight (1910) * Poule d'Essai des Poulains: McKinley (1919) * Prix de Guiche: Negofol (1909), McKinley (1919) * Prix de la Forêt: Prestige (1905), Montrose II (1911, dead-heat), Pétulance (1911, dead-heat) * Prix du Jockey Club: Maintenon (1906), Sea Sick (1908), Negofol (1909), Tchad (1919) * Prix Eugène Adam: Alpha (1903), Maintenon (1906) *

Prix Boiard Prix was an American power pop band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1975 by Tommy Hoehn and Jon Tiven. The group ended up primarily as a studio project. Its recordings were produced by Tiven along with former Big Star member Chris Bell, who als ...

: Prestige (1906), Maintenon (1907) et Tchad (1920) * Prix Jean Prat: Prestige (1906) *

Prix Kergorlay The Prix Kergorlay is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 3,000 metres (about 1⅞ miles), and it is scheduled t ...

: Turenne (1904), Maintenon (1906), Sea Sick (1909, 1910) *

Prix Lagrange Prix was an American power pop band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1975 by Tommy Hoehn and Jon Tiven. The group ended up primarily as a studio project. Its recordings were produced by Tiven along with former Big Star member Chris Bell, who als ...

: Prestige (1906) * Prix Morny: Prestige (1905), Messidor III (1909) et Manfred (1910) * Prix Robert Papin: Prestige (1905), Montrose II (1911), Gloster (1912) * Prix La Rochette: Schuyler (1907), Manfred (1910), Brume (1910), Pétulance (1911) * Prix Royal-Oak: Maintenon (1906), Reinhart (1910)

Personal life

On April 20, 1875, Vanderbilt married his first wife, Alva Erskine Smith (1853–1933), who was born in 1853 in

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...

, to Murray Forbes Smith, a commission merchant, and Phoebe Ann Desha, daughter of US Representative

Robert Desha Robert Desha (January 14, 1791February 6, 1849) was an American politician who represented Tennessee's 5th Congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. Early life Desha was born near Gallatin in the Southwest Territor ...

.Patterson, Jerry E. ''The Vanderbilts.'', pages 120-121. New York: H.N. Abrams, 1989. Together, they had three children: * Consuelo Vanderbilt (born March 2, 1877) * William Kissam Vanderbilt II (born on October 26, 1878) * Harold Stirling Vanderbilt (born on July 6, 1884) Alva later coerced Consuelo into marrying Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough on November 6, 1895. Alva divorced Vanderbilt in March 1895, at a time when divorce was rare among the elite, and received a large financial settlement reported to be in excess of $10 million (equal to about $ million today). The grounds for divorce were allegations of Vanderbilt's adultery. Alva remarried to one of their old family friends,

Oliver Hazard Perry 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 ...

, on January 11, 1896. In 1903, Vanderbilt married Anne Harriman (1861–1940), daughter of banker Oliver Harriman. She was a widow to sportsman

Samuel Stevens Sands Samuel Stevens Sands I (November 18, 1827 – July 24, 1892) was an American banker who served as the head of S.S. Sands & Co. Early life Sands was born at 112 Chambers Street in New York City on November 18, 1827. He was the son of Austin Ledya ...

and to Lewis Morris Rutherfurd, Jr., son of the astronomer

Lewis Morris Rutherfurd Lewis Morris Rutherfurd (November 25, 1816 – May 30, 1892) was an American lawyer and astronomer, and a pioneering astrophotographer. Early life and work Rutherfurd was born in Morrisania, New York to Robert Walter Rutherfurd (1788–1852) a ...

. Her second husband had died in Switzerland in 1901. She had two sons by her first marriage and two daughters by her second marriage. She had no children by Vanderbilt.

Residences

Like other prominent Vanderbilts, he built magnificent houses. His residences included

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 the U ...

(1900) on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

and Marble House (1892), designed by

Richard Morris Hunt Richard Morris Hunt (October 31, 1827 – July 31, 1895) was an American architect of the nineteenth century and an eminent figure in the history of American architecture. He helped shape New York City with his designs for the 1902 entrance fa� ...

, in Newport, Rhode Island. Hunt also designed Vanderbilt's 660 Fifth Avenue mansion (1883). Chateau 1 carte postale ancienne resized

In 1907, Vanderbilt and his second wife built Château Vanderbilt, a Louis XIII style manor house along with three thoroughbred race tracks in

Carrières-sous-Poissy Carrières-sous-Poissy () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region in north-central France. The town sits on the bank of the Seine River, directly opposite ...

, an hour outside Paris and on the route to Deauville, famous for its horse racing. Vanderbilt was a co-owner of the yacht '' Defender'', which won the 1895

America's Cup The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one f ...

and briefly owned the large steam yacht ''Consuelo''. Vanderbilt was a founder and president of the New Theatre. Vanderbilt made significant charitable contributions to Vanderbilt University, a private university in Nashville, Tennessee named for his grandfather.

Death and legacy

Vanderbilt died in Paris, France, on July 22, 1920. His remains were brought home and interred in the Vanderbilt family mausoleum in New Dorp, Staten Island, New York. Vanderbilt's portrait, painted by F. W. Wright from an original painting by Richard Hall between 1911 and 1921, was donated to Vanderbilt University in 1921; it is hung in Kirkland Hall. Founding member of the Jekyll Island Club aka The Millionaires Club on Jekyll Island, Georgia.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vanderbilt, William Kissam 1849 births 1920 deaths American railroad executives American railway entrepreneurs American racehorse owners and breeders French racehorse owners and breeders William Kissam American people of Dutch descent Businesspeople from Newport, Rhode Island Vanderbilt University people Former yacht owners of New York City People from Midtown Manhattan Burials at the Vanderbilt Family Cemetery and Mausoleum