William Henry Vanderbilt III
William Henry Vanderbilt III | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | November 24, 1901 |
| Died | April 14, 1981 (aged 79) |
| Education | St. George's School Evans School in Mesa, Arizona Princeton University |
| Title | Governor of Rhode Island |
| Predecessor | Robert E. Quinn |
| Successor | J. Howard McGrath |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Emily O'Neill Davies |
| Parent(s) | Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt Ellen French |
William Henry Vanderbilt III (November 24, 1901 – April 14, 1981) was Governor of Rhode Island and a member of the wealthy and socially prominent Vanderbilt family.
Biography
Born in New York City, he was the son of Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt and Ellen French. Vanderbilt's father was a great-grandson of Cornelius Vanderbilt, who founded the family fortune in railroads and shipping. William Vanderbilt's parents divorced in 1908 and through his father's second marriage he had two half-brothers, Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt II, and George Washington Vanderbilt III. In 1915, his father perished in the sinking of the RMS Lusitania. In 1934, his cousin on his mother's side, Ellen Tuck French, married John Jacob Astor VI, bringing together two of America's most famous families.
Shortly before the United States declared war on Germany during the First World War, Vanderbilt was appointed a midshipman in the U.S. Naval Coast Defense Reserve to rank from March 20, 1917.[1] As he was only 15 at the time, he was one of the youngest Americans to have served in the war.
While in the Navy Vanderbilt served on the USS Vesuvius from April 17 to May 31, 1917, the Naval Torpedo Station in Newport from June 1, 1917 to March 7, 1918, aide for information Second Naval District from March 7 to July 15, 1918, in Norfolk, Virginia from July 23 to September 16, 1918, New London, Connecticut from September 19 to November 14, 1918 and as a plank owner on board the newly commissioned destroyer USS Evans from November 11, 1918 to August 30, 1919.[2]
Educated at St. George's School in Middletown, Rhode Island (Class of 1919) and the Evans School in Mesa, Arizona, he attended Princeton University but dropped out during his first year. In 1940, Vanderbilt received an honorary LL.D. from Bates College.
When he turned 21, the then legal age of majority, in 1922, Vanderbilt inherited a $5 million trust fund plus the 450 acre (1.8 km²) Oakland Farm in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, one of his father's estates that included a number of thoroughbred horses. He made the farm his permanent home.
Vanderbilt married Emily O'Neill Davies, granddaughter of Daniel O'Neill, owner of the Pittsburgh Dispatch newspaper, and daughter of Frederick Martin Davies on 1 November 1923 at Grace Church, New York. Emily was the grandniece of Frederick Townsend Martin, a prominent writer of the 1920s. The couple gave birth to a daughter, Emily "Paddy" Vanderbilt on 12 May 1925 in New York.[3] The couple's marriage was troubled and Emily sued for divorce in Paris in the summer of 1926, but reconciled. She again sued for divorce in Newport, Rhode Island which was granted in June, 1928.[4]
The Short Line
In 1925 Vanderbilt started a coach bus company, called The Short Line, carrying passengers between Newport and Providence. Within a few years he expanded the business to serve points throughout New England and New York. The Short Line was purchased by George Sage in 1955 and, in 1970, was renamed Bonanza Bus Lines. Bonanza eventually merged with the Coach USA bus line in 1998 and was sold to Peter Pan Bus Lines in 2003.
Political Life
Vanderbilt was a member of the Republican Party. In 1928 he was a delegate to the Republican National Convention from Rhode Island and that year was elected to the State Senate. Vanderbilt served in the Rhode Island State Senate for six years (1929 - 1935) and then took time off to be with his sick wife, Anne Gordon Colby. On her recovery, he re-entered political life and successfully ran for Governor of Rhode Island in 1938. He served one term from January 1939 to January 1941. However, his refusal to dole out patronage to fellow Republicans weakened his power base and a scandal over wire-tapping by a private detective firm he had hired to investigate election fraud, cost him re-election in 1940.
Navy Service
In May 1941 Vanderbilt, a Naval Reservist, was called to active duty with the rank of lieutenant commander and initially assigned to the Panama Canal Zone. He was promoted to commander on August 15, 1942. He was later assigned to the staff of Admiral Chester W. Nimitz in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. He was promoted to the rank of captain prior to the end of the war.[5]
Retirement
He eventually left Rhode Island and retired to a farm in South Williamstown, Massachusetts. He died of cancer on April 14, 1981 at the age of 79.[6][7]
References
- ^ United States Navy Register, 1918. pg. 349.
- ^ St. George's School in the War, pg. 151.
- ^ "Wm. H. Vanderbilts Have a Daughter". New York Times. 13 May 1925. Retrieved 2009-03-30.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "Emily Vanderbilt Marries S. Thayer". New York Times. 8 December 1928. Retrieved 2009-03-30.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ New York Times, May 6, 1941. ; U.S. Navy Reserve Register, 1943
- ^ Blair, William G. (April 16, 1981). "William H. Vanderbilt, 79, Dead". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-08-04.
William Henry Vanderbilt, a former Governor of Rhode Island who was a great-great-grandson of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, the 19th century railroad magnate, died Tuesday night at his home in South Williamstown, Mass. He was 79 years old. Mr. Vanderbilt, a Republican, served in the State Senate from 1928 to ...
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "Died". Time (magazine). 1981-04-27. Retrieved 2008-08-04.
William Henry Vanderbilt, 79, farmer-philanthropist and sometime politician who served as Governor of Rhode Island from 1938 to 1940 and was the great-great-grandson of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, the 19th century railroad magnate; of cancer; in Williamstown, Mass.
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