Everything about John Jacob Astor totally explained
John Jacob Astor (born
Johann Jakob or
Johann Jacob Astor) (
July 17,
1763 –
March 29,
1848) was the first prominent member of the
Astor family and the first
millionaire in the
United States. He was the creator of the first
trust in America, from which he made his fortune in
fur trading,
real estate, and
opium.
From humble origins in
Germany, he emigrated to
London and then to
America following the
American Revolutionary War. He built a fur-trading empire that extended to the
Great Lakes region and
Canada, and later expanded into the American West and Pacific coast. In the early 1800s he diversified into
New York City real estate and later became a famed patron of the arts.
At the time of his death in 1848, Astor was the wealthiest person in the United States, leaving an estate estimated to be worth at least 20 million dollars; according to the latest
Forbes rankings, he'd be worth $115 billion in
2007 US Dollars, making him the fourth wealthiest person in American history.
Biography
Early life
John Jacob Astor's ancestors were
Waldensian refugees from Savoy. He
was born in
Walldorf, near
Heidelberg in the old Palatinate which became part of
Baden during the 19th century, Germany (currently in the
Rhein-Neckar district). His father (
Johann Jacob Astor) was a butcher. The son John Jacob Astor learned English in
London while working for his brother,
George Astor,
manufacturing musical instruments.
Astor arrived in the United States in March 1784, just after the end of the
Revolutionary War. He traded furs with Indians and then he started a fur goods shop in
New York City in the late 1780s.
Fortune from fur trade
Astor took advantage of the
Jay Treaty between
Great Britain and the United States in 1794 which opened new markets in
Canada and the
Great Lakes region. By 1800 he'd amassed almost a quarter of a million dollars, and had become one of the leading figures in the
fur trade. In 1800, following the example of the "
Empress of China", the first American trading vessel to
China, Astor traded furs, teas and
sandalwood with
Canton in China, and greatly benefited from it. The
Embargo Act from
Thomas Jefferson in 1807, however, disrupted his import/export business. With the permission of
President Jefferson, Astor established the
American Fur Company on
April 6,
1808. He later formed subsidiaries: the
Pacific Fur Company, and the
Southwest Fur Company (in which Canadians had a part), in order to control fur trading in the
Columbia River and
Great Lakes area.
The Columbia River trading post at
Fort Astoria (established in April 1811) was the first United States community on the Pacific coast. He financed the overland
Astor Expedition in 1810-12 to reach the outpost. Members of the expedition were to discover
South Pass through which hundreds of thousands settlers on the
Oregon,
California and
Mormon trails passed through the
Rocky Mountains.
His fur trading ventures were disrupted once again when the British captured his trading posts during the
War of 1812, but rebounded in 1817 after the
U.S. Congress passed a
protectionist law that barred foreign traders from U.S. Territories. The American Fur Company once again came to dominate trading in the area around the Great Lakes. In 1822, Astor established the
Astor House on
Mackinac Island as headquarters for the reformed American Fur Company, making the island a metropolis of the fur trade. A lengthy description based on documents, diaries etc. was given by
Washington Irving in his travelogue
Astoria.
In 1804, Astor purchased from
Aaron Burr what remained of a ninety-nine year lease on property in Manhattan. At the time, Burr was serving as
vice president under
Thomas Jefferson and desperately needed the purchase price of $62,500. The lease was to run until May 1, 1806. Astor began subdividing the land into nearly 250 lots and subleased them. His conditions were that the tenant could do whatever they wish with the lots for twenty-one years, after which they must renew the lease or Astor would take back the lot.
Real estate and retirement
real estate.
Predicting the rapid growth northward on
Manhattan Island, Astor purchased more and more land out beyond the current
city limits. Astor rarely built on his land, and instead let others pay rent to use it.
Death
After retiring from his business, Astor spent the rest of his life as a patron of
culture. He supported the
ornithologist John James Audubon, the poet/writer
Edgar Allan Poe, and the
presidential campaign of
Henry Clay. At the time of his death in 1848, Astor was the wealthiest person in the United States, leaving an estate estimated to be worth at least 20 million dollars. In his will, he gave orders to build the
Astor Library for the New York public (later consolidated with other libraries to form
New York Public Library), as well as a poorhouse in his German hometown, Walldorf. He also ordered that his business papers and ledgers were to be incinerated. Historians can only speculate as to what he was trying to hide.
Astor left the bulk of his fortune to his second son,
William Backhouse Astor, Sr. His eldest son, John Jacob II, had a mental disability and therefore was ineligible to receive the inheritance, although the family continued to care for him.
John Jacob Astor is buried in the
Trinity Churchyard Cemetery in the
New York City borough of
Manhattan. As a symbol of the earliest fortunes in New York, John Jacob Astor is mentioned in
Herman Melville's novella "
Bartleby, the Scrivener".
The famous pair of marble lions that sit by the stairs of The
New York Public Library at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street were originally named Leo Astor and Leo Lenox, after Astor and
James Lenox, who founded the library. Then they were called Lord Astor and Lady Lenox (both lions are males), before being given the names Patience and Fortitude by Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia during the Great Depression.
Children
- Magdalen (1788-1832)
- Sarah (1790-1791)
- John Jacob II (1791-1879)
- William Backhouse (1792-1875)
- Dorothee (1795-1853)
- Henry (1797-1799)
- Eliza (1801-1838)
- Jacob Warndorf (1802)
Further Information
Get more info on 'John Jacob Astor'.
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