Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt I

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Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt I bigraphy, stories - American businessman

Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt I : biography

October 20, 1877 – May 7, 1915

Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt, Sr. (October 20, 1877 – May 7, 1915) was an extremely wealthy sportsman and a member of the famous Vanderbilt family of philanthropists. He died on the .

Life

Alfred was born in New York City, the third son of Cornelius Vanderbilt II (1843–1899) and Alice Claypoole Gwynne. He attended the St. Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire, and at Yale University (Class of 1899), where he was a member of Skull and Bones.

Soon after graduation, Vanderbilt, with a party of friends, started on a tour of the world which was to have lasted two years. When they reached Japan on September 12, 1899, he received news of the sudden death of his father, and hastened home as speedily as possible to find himself, by his father’s will, the head of his branch of the family. His siblings were Alice Gwynne Vanderbilt (1869-1874), William Henry Vanderbilt II (1870–1892), Cornelius "Neily" Vanderbilt IV (1873–1942), Gertrude Vanderbilt (1875–1942), Reginald Claypoole Vanderbilt (1880–1925) and Gladys Moore Vanderbilt (1886–1965). His eldest brother, William, had died in 1892 at the age of 22 and their father had disinherited Neily. Alfred thus received the largest share of his father’s estate, though it was also divided among his sisters and younger brother, Reginald.

Soon after his return to New York, Vanderbilt began working as a clerk in the offices of the New York Central Railroad, as preparation for entering into the councils of the company as one of its principal owners. Subsequently, he was chosen a director in other companies as well, among them the Fulton Chain Railway Company, Fulton Navigation Company, Raquette Lake Railway Company, Raquette Lake Transportation Company, and the Plaza Bank of New York. Vanderbilt was a good judge of real estate values and projected several important enterprises. On the site of the former residence of the Vanderbilt family, and including, also, several adjacent plots, he built the Vanderbilt Hotel at Park Avenue and 34th Street, New York, which he made his city home. from New York City Heritage preservaton center

Among Alfred Vanderbilt’s many holdings were positions in the New York Central Railroad, Beech Creek Railroad, Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, Michigan Central Railroad and Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad as well as the Pullman Company.

Death

On May 1, 1915, Alfred Vanderbilt boarded the bound for Liverpool as a first class passenger. It was a business trip, and he traveled with only his valet, leaving his family at home in New York. On May 7 off the coast of County Cork, Ireland, the German U-boat, torpedoed the ship, triggering a secondary explosion that sank the giant ocean liner within 18 minutes. Vanderbilt and his valet, Ronald Denyer, helped others into lifeboats, and then Vanderbilt gave his lifejacket to save a female passenger. Vanderbilt had promised the young mother of a small baby that he would locate an extra lifevest for her. Failing to do so, he offered her his own life vest, which he proceeded to even tie on to her himself since she was holding her infant child in her arms at the time. Many consider his actions to be very brave and gallant since he could not swim, he knew that there were no other lifevests or lifeboats available, and yet he still gave away his only chance to survive to the young mother and child.

Because of his fame, several people on the Lusitania who survived the tragedy were observing him while events unfolded at the time and so they took note of his brave actions. He and Denyer were among the 1198 passengers who did not survive the incident. His body was never recovered. A24 Memorial

A memorial was erected on the A24 London to Worthing Road in Holmwood, just south of Dorking. The inscription reads, "In Memory of Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt a gallant gentleman and a fine sportsman who perished in the Lusitania May 7th 1915. This stone is erected on his favourite road by a few of his British coaching friends and admirers".