Cornelius Vanderbilt III   [1873-1942]

In 1896, a year following Cornelius Vanderbilt III’s graduation from Yale University with a Bachelor of Arts degree, he decided to get married. The marriage was against his father’s wishes, and three years later he discovered marrying without parental consent was a costly mistake.

His parents were Cornelius Vanderbilt II and Alice Claypoole Gwynne. He was educated by private tutors at St. Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire.

Cornelius Vanderbilt III’s father died three years later, and only left him half a million dollars. The remainder of his father’s estate, amounting to $70 million, went to his brother, Alfred Vanderbilt.  Alfred felt sorry for his brother Cornelius and gave him $6 million. He never reconciled with his father and only reconciled with his mother 30 years later.

Keep in mind that at that time $ 6 million was a lot of money, and Cornelius Vanderbilt III decided to continue his studies at Yale University. During the next three years he would earn two other Bachelor’s degrees, one in Philosophy and one in Mechanical Engineering.

The 1896 marriage would last. The couple remained married during the remainder of their lives. They had two children, a boy and a girl. The boy was Cornelius Vanderbilt IV, who unlike his parents would marry seven different wives over a 55 year time span. He passed away in 1974. The daughter’s name was Grace, born in 1899. She passed away in 1965.

Following his University education, Cornelius Vanderbilt III became a tinkerer and developed a number of technologies which he was able to turn into over 30 patents which earned him substantial royalties. In other words, in addition to using the inherited money, he was able to create considerable income himself.

Examples of some of his discoveries were: a corrugated firebox for locomotives which improved efficiency substantially, a cylindrical styled tank car for transporting bulk oil and other liquids, a revolutionary type of locomotive tender, and several other improvements in the transportation technology of his time.

While visiting both London and Paris he became intrigued with their respective subway systems. He saw the potential for subways in New York City and became a major force in establishing the Inter-borough Rapid Transit System (IRTC) for the construction of the city’s first subway.

Cornelius Vanderbilt III was active in the National Guard for over 33 years. In 1901 he was made a Second Lieutenant in the Twelfth Infantry Regiment of the New York National Guard. He fought in the border wars with Mexico, and in 1916 he served overseas as Commander of the 102^nd engineers. He rose through the ranks and became a Brigadier General in command of the 25^th Infantry Brigade.

For his military service during the War, later called the First World War, he was decorated with the United States Decorated Service Medal and the New York State Conspicuous Service Medal. The Belgian Government made him a Commander of the Order of the Crown of Belgium, and awarded the Croix de Guerre. The French Government named him as a Commander of the Legion of Honor.

Following the War he and his wife frequently travelled to Europe and became friends with members of the European royalty, including every British monarch since Queen Victoria, Queen Mary of Romania, King Albert I of Belgium, Prince Harry of Russia, and the former Kaiser of Germany, Wilhelm II.

Cornelius Vanderbilt III served as the Commodore of the New York Yacht Club from 1906 to 1909. He was a member of a syndicate which built the yacht “Reliance”, which was successful in defending the America’s Cup in 1906. In 1910 he piloted his sloop “Aurora” to victory in the New York Yacht Club race for the King Edward VII trophy in Newport, Rhode Island.

Cornelius Vanderbilt III passed away on his yacht on March 1, 1942 when vacationing in Florida. His wife Grace outlived him by eleven years. She passed away on January 7, 1953. They are both buried in the Vanderbilt family mausoleum in the Moravian Cemetery in the community of New Dorp, Staten Island, New York.

 

REFERENCES

Sources were the various web sites including the Wikipedia and others.

APPENDIX REFERENCE

At the end of the bio profile of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt is an extensive description how the Vanderbilt in this bio profile fits in with the other prominent Vanderbilts who preceded or followed him. Please refer to it for further understanding of the Vanderbilt family tree.

 

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PROMINENT DUTCH AMERICANS, CURRENT AND HISTORIC

EIGHT PROMINENT DUTCH AMERICAN FAMILIES: THE ROOSEVELTS, VANDERBILTS AND OTHERS, 2015

FIFTEEN PROMINENT DUTCH AMERICAN FAMILIES: THE VAN BURENS, KOCH BROTHERS, VOORHEES AND OTHERS, 2015

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DUTCH PEGELS INVOLVED IN WARS

ALLIED EUROPE CAMPAIGN—1944/1945: TACTICAL MISTAKES, 2017

THE SECOND WORLD WAR IN THE NETHERLANDS: MEMOIRS, 2017

FRENCH REVOLUTION, NAPOLEON AND RUSSIAN WAR OF 1812, 2015