COLONEL ASTOR
John Jacob Astor was returning from a trip to Egypt with
his nineteen-year-old bride, formerly Miss Madeline Force, to
whom he was married in Providence, September 9, 1911. He
was head of the family whose name he bore and one of the
world's wealthiest men. He was not, however, one of the
world's "idle rich," for his life of forty-seven years was a well-filled
one. He had managed the family estates since 1891;
built the Astor Hotel, New York; was colonel on the staff of
Governor Levi P. Morton, and in May, 1898, was commissioned
colonel of the United States volunteers. After assisting Major-General
Breckinridge, inspector-general of the United States
army, he was assigned to duty on the staff of Major-General
Shafter and served in Cuba during the operations ending in
the surrender of Santiago. He was also the inventor of a
bicycle brake, a pneumatic road-improver, and an improved
turbine engine.
