John Jacob Astor, detail of an oil painting by Gilbert Stuart, 1794

John Jacob (originally either Johann Jakob or Johann Jacob) Astor (July 17, 1763 - March 29, 1848) was the first of the Astor family dynasty and the first millionaire in the United States, the creator of the first Trust in America, from which he made his fortune in the fur trade, real estate, and opium^[1] industries. Image File history File linksMetadata John_Jacob_Astor. ... Image File history File linksMetadata John_Jacob_Astor. ... Self portrait, 1778 Gilbert Charles Stuart (né Stewart) (December 3, 1755 - July 9, 1828) was an American painter. ... hellotyle=float:right; |- | |- | |} July 17 is the 198th day (199th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 167 days remaining. ... 1763 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... March 29 is the 88th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (89th in leap years). ... Year 1848 (MDCCCXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Monday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... The Astor family, founded by the German immigrant John Jacob Astor and his wife Sarah Todd, became the wealthiest family in the United States during the 19th century. ... A mansion on Diamond Head Road in Honolulu near Diamond Head State Park. ... An Alberta fur trader in the 1890s. ... Real estate is a legal term that encompasses land along with anything permanently affixed to the land, such as buildings. ... Opium is a narcotic produced from opium poppies. ...

Biography

Early life

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 was a butcher, and he learned English in London while working for his brother, George Astor, manufacturing musical instruments. Walldorf is a town in the Baden part of Baden-Württemberg in Germany and has a population of 14,445 inhabitants. ... Heidelberg and the other cities of the Neckar valley The castle (Schloss) above the town Main Street (Hauptstrasse) Shopping district View from the so called alley of philosophers (Philosophenweg) towards the Old Town, with Heidelberg Castle, Heiliggeist Church and the Old Bridge Heidelberg is a city in Baden-Württemberg... Baden is a historical state in the southwest of Germany, on the right bank of the Rhine. ... Rhein-Neckar-Kreis is a district (Kreis) in the north-west of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Manufacturing , a branch of industry, is the application of tools and a processing medium to the transformation of raw materials into finished goods for sale. ... A musical instrument is a device that has been constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. ...

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. Combatants American Revolutionaries French Monarchy Dutch Republic Spanish Empire Oneida and Tuscarora tribes Polish volunteers Prussian volunteers Kingdom of Great Britain Hessian mercenaries Iroquois Confederacy Loyalists Commanders George Washington Nathanael Greene Gilbert de La Fayette Comte de Rochambeau Bernardo de Gálvez Tadeusz Kościuszko Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben Sir... New York, NY redirects here. ...

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 had 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 Treaty The Jay Treaty between the United States and Great Britain averted war, solved many issues left over from the Revolution, and opened ten years of peaceful trade in the midst of a large war. ... The Great Lakes from space The Great Lakes are a group of five large lakes on or near the United States-Canadian border. ... An Alberta fur trader in the 1890s. ... The branches of a young sandalwood tree found in Hawaii Sandalwood (Chandanam) is a fragrant wood, and the name may be applied to any of a number of woods. ... Guangdong, often spelt as Kwangtung, is a province on the south coast of the Peoples Republic of China. ... The Embargo Act of 1807 was an American law prohibiting all export of cargo from American ports. ... This article is becoming very long. ... This article is becoming very long. ... The American Fur Company was founded by John Jacob Astor in 1808. ... April 6 is the 96th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (97th in leap years). ... 1808 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... The Pacific Fur Company was founded June 23, 1810, in New York City. ... The Columbia River (French: fleuve Columbia) is a river situated in British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest of the United States. ... The Great Lakes from space The Great Lakes are a group of five large lakes in North America on or near the Canada-United States border. ...

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. Fort Astoria was the Pacific Fur Companys primary fur trading post in the Northwest, and was the first permanent U.S. settlement on the Pacific coast. ... The Astor Expedition in 1810-1812 was the first overland expedition from St. ... South Pass (elevation 7550 ft) is a mountain pass on the Continental Divide in the Rocky Mountains in southwestern Wyoming. ... The Ox Team or the Old Oregon Trail 1852-1906 by Ezra Meeker. ... Main route of California Trail (thick red line), including Applegate-Lassen and Beckwourth variations (thinner red lines) The California Trail was a major overland emigrant route across the Western United States from Missouri to California in the middle 19th century. ... The Mormon Trail or Mormon Pioneer Trail is the 1,300 mile route that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints traveled from 1846-1857. ... Confectionary Company, see Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. ...

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. Combatants United States Eastern Woodland Indians United Kingdom, Canada Eastern Woodland Indians Commanders James Madison Henry Dearborn Jacob Brown Winfield Scott Andrew Jackson George Prevost Isaac Brock† Tecumseh† Strength •U.S. Regular Army: 35,800 •Rangers: 3,049 •Militia: 458,463* •US Navy & US Marines: (at start of war): •Frigates... Congress in Joint Session. ... Protectionism is the economic policy of restraining trade between nations, through methods such as high tariffs on imported goods, restrictive quotas, a variety of restrictive government regulations designed to discourage imports, and anti-dumping laws in an attempt to protect domestic industries in a particular nation from foreign take-over... From left to right: St. ... This article is about the island in Michigan. ... Washington Irving (April 3, 1783–November 28, 1859) was an American author of the early 19th century. ...

In 1802, Astor purchased what remained of a ninety-nine year lease from Aaron Burr for $62,500. At the time, Burr was serving as vice president under Thomas Jefferson and was desperately short on cash. The lease was to run until May 1, 1866. 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. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A vice president is an officer in government or business who is next in rank below a president. ... This article is becoming very long. ...

Real estate and retirement

In the 1830s, John Jacob Astor figured that the next big boom would be in the build-up of New York, which would soon emerge as one of the world’s greatest cities. Astor withdrew from the American Fur Company, as well as all his other ventures, and invested all his proceeds on buying and developing large tracts of land, focusing solely on Manhattan real estate. Foreseeing 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. Real estate is a legal term that encompasses land along with anything permanently affixed to the land, such as buildings. ... For other uses, see Manhattan (disambiguation). ... City limits refers to the defined limits of a citys area. ...

After retiring from his business, Astor spent the rest of his life as a patron of culture. He supported the famous 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. As a symbol of the earliest fortunes in New York, John Jacob Astor is mentioned in Herman Melville's great novella "Bartleby, the Scriber". Culture (from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning to cultivate), generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activity significance. ... Ornithology (from the Greek ornitha = chicken and logos = word/science) is the branch of biology concerned with the scientific study of birds. ... John James Audubon John James Audubon[1] (April 26, 1785 – January 27, 1851) was a Franco-American ornithologist, naturalist, and painter. ... Edgar Allan Poe (January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American poet, short story writer, editor, critic and one of the leaders of the American Romantic Movement. ... A political campaign is an effort to reach a certain political goal. ... Henry Clay (April 12, 1777 – June 29, 1852) was a leading American statesman and orator who represented Kentucky in both the House of Representatives and Senate. ... New York Public Library, central block, built 1897–1911, Carrère and Hastings, architects (June, 2003) The New York Public Library (NYPL), one of three public library systems serving New York City, is one of the leading libraries in the United States. ... The New York Public Library - logo New York Public Library, central block, built 1897–1911, Carrère and Hastings, architects (June 2003) The New York Public Library (NYPL), one of three public library systems serving New York City, is one of the leading libraries in the United States. ... Herman Melville (August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, essayist and poet. ... Bartleby the Scrivener is a short story by Herman Melville. ...

The great bulk of his fortune was bequeathed to his second son, William Backhouse Astor Sr., instead of his eldest son John Jacob Astor II (1791-1869). William Backhouse Astor, Sr. ...

John Jacob Astor is interred in the Trinity Churchyard Cemetery in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The famous pair of marble lions that sit by the stairs of The New York Public Library at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street were origially 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. Trinity Church Cemetery consists of three separate burial grounds associated with Trinity Church in Manhattan, New York, USA. The first was established in the Churchyard located at 74 Trinity Place at Wall Street and Broadway. ... New York, NY redirects here. ... The Five Boroughs of New York City: 1: Manhattan 2: Brooklyn 3: Queens 4: Bronx 5: Staten Island In New York City, a borough is a unique form of government used to administer the five constituent counties that make up the city; it differs significantly from other borough forms of... The Borough of Manhattan, highlighted in yellow, lies between the East River and the Hudson River. ...

Children

1. Magdalen (1788-1832)
2. Sarah (1790-1791)
3. John Jacob II (1791-1879)
4. William Backhouse (1792-1875)
5. Dorothee (1795-1853)
6. Henry (1797-1799)
7. Eliza (1801-1838)
8. unnamed son (1802)

William Backhouse Astor, Sr. ...

See also

• Astor family
  • John Jacob Astor IV
  • John Jacob Astor VI
  • John Jacob Astor, 1st Baron Astor of Hever
• Astoria, Oregon
• Astoria, Queens
• Astor Place (Manhattan)
• Astor Row

The Astor family, founded by the German immigrant John Jacob Astor and his wife Sarah Todd, became the wealthiest family in the United States during the 19th century. ... John Astor IV and Madeleine Astor Colonel John Jacob Astor IV (July 13, 1864 – April 15, 1912) was a businessman, inventor, writer and a member of the prominent Astor family. ... John Jacob Astor VI (August 14, 1912 - June 26, 1992) was a member of the prominent Astor family. ... Lt. ... The Astoria Column Suomi Hall, the meeting hall of Finnish and Scandinavian immigrants, under the Astoria-Megler Bridge Woman walking her dog along the Columbia River in Astoria The city of Astoria is the county seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. ... The historic (and once-abandoned) Eagle Electric company warehouse in Astoria, now becoming a condominium development. ... Please wikify (format) this article as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... Astor Row is the name given to 130th Street between 5th Avenue and Lennox in Harlem, New York City. ...

External link

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

John Jacob Astor

• Astoria, Author Washington Irving full text (pdf)
• [2]

Image File history File links Wikiquote-logo-en. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... William Backhouse Astor, Sr. ...

References

• Smith, Arthur D. Howden; John Jacob Astor: Landlord Of New York; J.B. Lippincott Company; Philadephia and London; 1929.

1. ^ In 1816, John Jacob Astor of New York City joined the opium smuggling trade. His American Fur Company purchased ten tons of Turkish opium, then shiped the contraband item to Canton on the Packet Ship. Macedonian. Astor would later leave the China opium trade and sell solely to England.[1]