William Kissam Vanderbilt II
Encyclopedia
William Kissam Vanderbilt II (2 March 1878 – 8 January 1944) was a motor racing enthusiast and yachtsman
and a member of the prominent United States
Vanderbilt family
.
, the second child and first son of William Kissam Vanderbilt
and Alva Murray Smith
. He was a brother to Harold Stirling Vanderbilt
and Consuelo Vanderbilt
. Born to a life of luxury, he was raised in Vanderbilt mansions
, traveled to Europe
frequently, and sailed the globe on yachts owned by his father.
Vanderbilt was educated by tutors and at private school
s and sent to study at Harvard University
but dropped out after the first year. Although he developed an interest in horse racing
and yachting
, he was totally fascinated with automobiles. At age 10, during a stay in the south of France
he had ridden in a steam-powered tricycle from Beaulieu-sur-Mer
the 7 kilometers to Monte Carlo
and as a twenty-year-old, in 1898 he ordered a French De Dion-Bouton
motor tricycle and had it shipped to New York. Soon, he acquired other motorized vehicles and before long began to infuriate citizens and officials alike as he sped furiously through the towns and villages of Long Island, New York en route to Idle Hour, his parent's summer estate at Oakdale
.
In 1899, Vanderbilt married Virginia Graham Fair
(1875–1935), a wealthy heiress whose father, James Graham Fair
had made a fortune in mining the famous Comstock Lode
. They spent their honeymoon at the Idle Hour estate but disaster struck when fire broke out and the mansion burned to the ground.
A skilled sailor, he participated in yacht racing
, winning the Sir Thomas Lipton Cup in 1900 with his new 70 feet (21.3 m) yacht he had named Virginia in honor of his new bride. In 1902, Vanderbilt began construction on his own country place at Great Neck
on Long Island that he named "Deepdale." However, sailing would take second place to his enthusiasm for fast cars. In 1904, Willie K Vanderbilt set a new Land Speed Record
of 92.3 mi/h in a Mercedes
at the Daytona Beach Road Course
at Ormond Beach, Florida
. That same year, he launched the Vanderbilt Cup
, the first major trophy in American auto racing
. An international event, designed to spur American manufacturers into racing, the race's large cash prize drew the top drivers and their vehicles from across the Atlantic Ocean
who had competed in Europe
's Gordon Bennett Cup
. Held at a course set out in Nassau County
on Long Island, New York, the race drew large crowds hoping to see an American car defeat the mighty European vehicles. However, a French Panhard
vehicle won the race and fans would have to wait until 1908 when 23-year-old George Robertson
of Garden City, New York
became the first American to win the Vanderbilt Cup.
While a great part of his life was filled with travel and leisure activities, Willie K Vanderbilt's father put him to work at the family's New York Central Railroad
offices at Grand Central Station in Manhattan
. As such, in 1905 he joined other Vanderbilts on Fifth Avenue, building a townhouse at number 666. The Vanderbilt Cup auto races repeatedly had crowd control problems and at the 1906 race a spectator was killed. Seeing the potential to solve the safety issue as well as improve attendance to his race, Willie K Vanderbilt formed a corporation to build the Long Island Motor Parkway
, one of the country's first modern paved parkways that could not only be used for the race but would open up Long Island for easy access and economic development. Construction began in 1907 of the multi-million dollar toll highway that was to run from the Kissena Corridor in Queens County over numerous bridges and overpasses to Lake Ronkonkoma, a distance of 48 miles (77.2 km). However, the toll road was never able to generate sustainable profits and in 1938 it was formally ceded to the county governments in lieu of the $80,000 due in back taxes.
His new high-speed road complemented a train service that allowed a rapid exit from Manhattan. Becoming the first suburban automobile commuter, in 1910 Willie K Vanderbilt began work on the much more elaborate and costly "Eagles Nest
" estate at Centerport, Long Island
. An avid collector of natural history and marine specimens as well as other anthropological objects, he traveled extensively aboard his yacht as well as overland to numerous destinations around the globe. He acquired a vast array of artifacts for his collection during his well-documented travels and after service with the United States Navy
during World War I
, he published a book titled "A Trip Through Sicily, Tunisia, Algeria, and Southern France." A few years later, he engaged a curator from the American Museum of Natural History
to participate with him in a scientific voyage to the Galapagos Islands
.
Already extremely wealthy from a Trust fund and from his income as president of the New York Central Railroad Company, on his father's passing in 1920, Willie K Vanderbilt inherited a multi-million dollar fortune. In 1925 he traded the luxury yacht Eagle for ownership of Fisher Island, Florida
, a place he used as a winter residence. He built a mansion complete with docking facilities for his yacht, a seaplane hangar, tennis courts, swimming pool, and an eleven-hole golf course. This home was called Alva Base and the architect was Maurice Fatio
. In addition to this property, and his Long Island estate, Vanderbilt also owned a farm in Tennessee
and Kedgwick Lodge, a hunting lodge designed for his father by architect Stanford White
, on the Restigouche River
in New Brunswick
, Canada
.
Vanderbilt and his wife Virginia had a son, William Kissam Vanderbilt III and daughters Muriel
and Consuelo Vanderbilt Earl, the latter named for her aunt. However, the Vanderbilts separated after ten years of marriage but did not formally divorce until 1927 when he wanted to remarry. Divorce proceedings were handled by his New York lawyers while he and Rosamund Lancaster Warburton (1897–1947), a former wife of an heir to the John Wanamaker
department store fortune, waited discreetly away from the media at a home in the Paris
ian suburb of Passy
, France
. When the divorce matters were complete, the couple were married at the Hotel de Ville (city hall) in Paris. He became a legal stepfather to Barclay Harding Warburton III once they wed.
In 1933, tragedy struck the Vanderbilt family when his 26-year-old son, William Kissam III, was killed in an automobile accident in South Carolina
while driving home to New York City from his father's Florida estate. His son had inherited his father's love of fast cars and exotic travel and in his memory, Willie K Vanderbilt added a new wing to his Eagle's Nest home in Long Island to house memorabilia, trophies, and souvenirs including those from his son's Africa
n safaris. He then opened the estate for public viewing several days a week and organized his will so that upon his death the Eagle's Nest property along with a $2 million upkeep fund would be given to Suffolk County, New York
to serve as a public museum
, the Vanderbilt Museum
.
Willie Kissam Vanderbilt II died on January 8, 1944 of a heart ailment and was interred in the family mausoleum at the Moravian Cemetery on Staten Island, New York.
Yachting
Yachting refers to recreational sailing or boating, the specific act of sailing or using other water vessels for sporting purposes.-Competitive sailing:...
and a member of the prominent United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Vanderbilt family
Vanderbilt family
The Vanderbilt family is an American family of Dutch origin prominent during the Gilded Age. It started off with the shipping and railroad empires of Cornelius Vanderbilt, and expanded into various other areas of industry and philanthropy...
.
Biography
He was born on March 2, 1878 in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, the second child and first son of William Kissam Vanderbilt
William Kissam Vanderbilt
William Kissam Vanderbilt was a member of the prominent American Vanderbilt family. He managed railroads and was a horse breeder.-Biography:...
and Alva Murray Smith
Alva Belmont
Alva Erskine Belmont , née Alva Erskine Smith, also called Alva Vanderbilt from 1875 to 1896, was a prominent multi-millionaire American socialite and a major figure in the women's suffrage movement...
. He was a brother to Harold Stirling Vanderbilt
Harold Stirling Vanderbilt
Harold Stirling Vanderbilt was an American railroad executive, a champion yachtsman, a champion bridge player and a member of the Vanderbilt family.-Background:...
and Consuelo Vanderbilt
Consuelo Vanderbilt
Consuelo Balsan , was a member of the prominent American Vanderbilt family...
. Born to a life of luxury, he was raised in Vanderbilt mansions
Vanderbilt houses
From the late 1870s to the 1920s, the Vanderbilt family employed America's best Beaux-Arts architects and decorators to build an unequalled string of New York townhouses and East Coast palaces in the United States. Many of the Vanderbilt houses are now National Historic Landmarks...
, traveled to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
frequently, and sailed the globe on yachts owned by his father.
Vanderbilt was educated by tutors and at private school
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
s and sent to study at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
but dropped out after the first year. Although he developed an interest in horse racing
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
and yachting
Yachting
Yachting refers to recreational sailing or boating, the specific act of sailing or using other water vessels for sporting purposes.-Competitive sailing:...
, he was totally fascinated with automobiles. At age 10, during a stay in the south of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
he had ridden in a steam-powered tricycle from Beaulieu-sur-Mer
Beaulieu-sur-Mer
Beaulieu-sur-Mer , Italian: Belluogo, is a seaside village on the French Riviera between Nice and Monaco. It is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department and borders the communes of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, Èze, and Villefranche-sur-Mer.-History:...
the 7 kilometers to Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco....
and as a twenty-year-old, in 1898 he ordered a French De Dion-Bouton
De Dion-Bouton
De Dion-Bouton was a French automobile manufacturer and railcar manufacturer operating from 1883 to 1932. The company was founded by the Marquis Jules-Albert de Dion, Georges Bouton and his brother-in-law Charles Trépardoux....
motor tricycle and had it shipped to New York. Soon, he acquired other motorized vehicles and before long began to infuriate citizens and officials alike as he sped furiously through the towns and villages of Long Island, New York en route to Idle Hour, his parent's summer estate at Oakdale
Oakdale, New York
Oakdale is a hamlet in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 8,075 at the 2000 census. Oakdale is in the Town of Islip.- History :...
.
In 1899, Vanderbilt married Virginia Graham Fair
Virginia Fair Vanderbilt
Virginia Fair Vanderbilt was an American socialite, hotel builder/owner, philanthropist, owner of Fair Stable, a Thoroughbred racehorse operation, and a member of the prominent Vanderbilt family.-Biography:...
(1875–1935), a wealthy heiress whose father, James Graham Fair
James Graham Fair
James Graham Fair was the overnight millionaire part-owner of the Comstock Lode, a United States Senator and a colorful real estate and railroad speculator.-Early life:...
had made a fortune in mining the famous Comstock Lode
Comstock Lode
The Comstock Lode was the first major U.S. discovery of silver ore, located under what is now Virginia City, Nevada, on the eastern slope of Mount Davidson, a peak in the Virginia Range. After the discovery was made public in 1859, prospectors rushed to the area and scrambled to stake their claims...
. They spent their honeymoon at the Idle Hour estate but disaster struck when fire broke out and the mansion burned to the ground.
A skilled sailor, he participated in yacht racing
Yacht racing
Yacht racing is the sport of competitive yachting.While sailing groups organize the most active and popular competitive yachting, other boating events are also held world-wide: speed motorboat racing; competitive canoeing, kayaking, and rowing; model yachting; and navigational contests Yacht racing...
, winning the Sir Thomas Lipton Cup in 1900 with his new 70 feet (21.3 m) yacht he had named Virginia in honor of his new bride. In 1902, Vanderbilt began construction on his own country place at Great Neck
Great Neck, New York
The term Great Neck is commonly applied to a peninsula on the North Shore of Long Island, which includes the village of Great Neck, the village of Great Neck Estates, the village of Great Neck Plaza, and others, as well as an area south of the peninsula near Lake Success and the border of Queens...
on Long Island that he named "Deepdale." However, sailing would take second place to his enthusiasm for fast cars. In 1904, Willie K Vanderbilt set a new Land Speed Record
Land speed record
The land speed record is the highest speed achieved by a wheeled vehicle on land. There is no single body for validation and regulation; in practice the Category C flying start regulations are used, officiated by regional or national organizations under the auspices of the Fédération...
of 92.3 mi/h in a Mercedes
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...
at the Daytona Beach Road Course
Daytona Beach Road Course
Daytona Beach Road Course was a race track that was instrumental in the formation of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, or NASCAR. It originally became famous as the location where fifteen world land speed records were set...
at Ormond Beach, Florida
Ormond Beach, Florida
Ormond Beach is a city in Volusia County, Florida, United States. The population was 36,301 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 37,929. Ormond Beach is the northern neighbor of Daytona Beach and is home to Tomoka State Park.-History:Ormond Beach was...
. That same year, he launched the Vanderbilt Cup
Vanderbilt Cup
The Vanderbilt Cup was the first major trophy in American auto racing.-History:An international event, it was founded by William Kissam Vanderbilt II in 1904 and first held at a course set out in Nassau County on Long Island, New York. The announcement that the race was to be held caused...
, the first major trophy in American auto racing
Auto racing
Auto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of cars for competition. It is one of the world's most watched televised sports.-The beginning of racing:...
. An international event, designed to spur American manufacturers into racing, the race's large cash prize drew the top drivers and their vehicles from across the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
who had competed in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
's Gordon Bennett Cup
Gordon Bennett Cup in auto racing
As one of three Gordon Bennett Cups established by James Gordon Bennett, Jr., millionaire owner of the New York Herald, the automobile racing award was first given in 1900 in France....
. Held at a course set out in Nassau County
Nassau County, New York
Nassau County is a suburban county on Long Island, east of New York City in the U.S. state of New York, within the New York Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,339,532...
on Long Island, New York, the race drew large crowds hoping to see an American car defeat the mighty European vehicles. However, a French Panhard
Panhard
Panhard is currently a French manufacturer of light tactical and military vehicles. Its current incarnation was formed by the acquisition of Panhard by Auverland in 2005. Panhard had been under Citroën ownership, then PSA , for 40 years...
vehicle won the race and fans would have to wait until 1908 when 23-year-old George Robertson
George Robertson
George Robertson may refer to:*George Robertson, Baron Robertson of Port Ellen , UK Defence Secretary, NATO Secretary-General*George Croom Robertson , Scottish philosopher*George R. Robertson , American actor*George S...
of Garden City, New York
Garden City, New York
Garden City is a village in the town of Hempstead in central Nassau County, New York, in the United States. It was founded by multi-millionaire Alexander Turney Stewart in 1869, and is located on Long Island, to the east of New York City, from mid-town Manhattan, and just south of the town of...
became the first American to win the Vanderbilt Cup.
While a great part of his life was filled with travel and leisure activities, Willie K Vanderbilt's father put him to work at the family's New York Central Railroad
New York Central Railroad
The New York Central Railroad , known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States...
offices at Grand Central Station in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. As such, in 1905 he joined other Vanderbilts on Fifth Avenue, building a townhouse at number 666. The Vanderbilt Cup auto races repeatedly had crowd control problems and at the 1906 race a spectator was killed. Seeing the potential to solve the safety issue as well as improve attendance to his race, Willie K Vanderbilt formed a corporation to build the Long Island Motor Parkway
Long Island Motor Parkway
The Long Island Motor Parkway , also known as the Vanderbilt Parkway and Motor Parkway, was the first roadway designed for automobile use only. It was privately built by William Kissam Vanderbilt with overpasses and bridges to remove intersections...
, one of the country's first modern paved parkways that could not only be used for the race but would open up Long Island for easy access and economic development. Construction began in 1907 of the multi-million dollar toll highway that was to run from the Kissena Corridor in Queens County over numerous bridges and overpasses to Lake Ronkonkoma, a distance of 48 miles (77.2 km). However, the toll road was never able to generate sustainable profits and in 1938 it was formally ceded to the county governments in lieu of the $80,000 due in back taxes.
His new high-speed road complemented a train service that allowed a rapid exit from Manhattan. Becoming the first suburban automobile commuter, in 1910 Willie K Vanderbilt began work on the much more elaborate and costly "Eagles Nest
Vanderbilt Museum
The Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum is located in Centerport on the North Shore of Long Island in Suffolk County, New York, USA. Named for William K...
" estate at Centerport, Long Island
Centerport, New York
Centerport is a hamlet in Suffolk County, New York on the notably affluent North Shore of Long Island. Formerly known as Little Cow Harbor about 1700, Centreport in 1836, and then the present Centerport after 1895...
. An avid collector of natural history and marine specimens as well as other anthropological objects, he traveled extensively aboard his yacht as well as overland to numerous destinations around the globe. He acquired a vast array of artifacts for his collection during his well-documented travels and after service with the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, he published a book titled "A Trip Through Sicily, Tunisia, Algeria, and Southern France." A few years later, he engaged a curator from the American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
to participate with him in a scientific voyage to the Galapagos Islands
Galápagos Islands
The Galápagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed around the equator in the Pacific Ocean, west of continental Ecuador, of which they are a part.The Galápagos Islands and its surrounding waters form an Ecuadorian province, a national park, and a...
.
Already extremely wealthy from a Trust fund and from his income as president of the New York Central Railroad Company, on his father's passing in 1920, Willie K Vanderbilt inherited a multi-million dollar fortune. In 1925 he traded the luxury yacht Eagle for ownership of Fisher Island, Florida
Fisher Island, Florida
Fisher Island is a neighborhood of metropolitan Miami, Florida, located on a barrier island of the same name. As of the 2000 census, Fisher Island had the highest per capita income of any place in the United States in 2000. The CDP had only 218 households and a total population of 467 persons...
, a place he used as a winter residence. He built a mansion complete with docking facilities for his yacht, a seaplane hangar, tennis courts, swimming pool, and an eleven-hole golf course. This home was called Alva Base and the architect was Maurice Fatio
Maurice Fatio
Maurice Fatio was a society architect in New York and Palm Beach. Born in Geneva, Switzerland in 1897, he graduated from the Polytechnical School at the University of Zurich and studied under Swiss architect Karl Moser. In 1920 he came to New York City where he first worked for society architect...
. In addition to this property, and his Long Island estate, Vanderbilt also owned a farm in Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
and Kedgwick Lodge, a hunting lodge designed for his father by architect Stanford White
Stanford White
Stanford White was an American architect and partner in the architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White, the frontrunner among Beaux-Arts firms. He designed a long series of houses for the rich and the very rich, and various public, institutional, and religious buildings, some of which can be found...
, on the Restigouche River
Restigouche River
The Restigouche River is a river that flows across the northwestern part of the province of New Brunswick and the southeastern part of Quebec....
in New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Vanderbilt and his wife Virginia had a son, William Kissam Vanderbilt III and daughters Muriel
Muriel Vanderbilt
Muriel Vanderbilt was an American socialite and a thoroughbred racehorse owner/breeder who was a member of the wealthy Vanderbilt family.-Biography:...
and Consuelo Vanderbilt Earl, the latter named for her aunt. However, the Vanderbilts separated after ten years of marriage but did not formally divorce until 1927 when he wanted to remarry. Divorce proceedings were handled by his New York lawyers while he and Rosamund Lancaster Warburton (1897–1947), a former wife of an heir to the John Wanamaker
John Wanamaker
John Wanamaker was a United States merchant, religious leader, civic and political figure, considered by some to be the father of modern advertising and a "pioneer in marketing." Wanamaker was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.-Biography:He was born on July 11, 1838.He opened his first store in...
department store fortune, waited discreetly away from the media at a home in the Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
ian suburb of Passy
Passy
Passy is an area of Paris, France, located in the XVIe arrondissement, on the Right Bank. It is traditionally home to many of the city's wealthiest residents.Passy was formerly a commune...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. When the divorce matters were complete, the couple were married at the Hotel de Ville (city hall) in Paris. He became a legal stepfather to Barclay Harding Warburton III once they wed.
In 1933, tragedy struck the Vanderbilt family when his 26-year-old son, William Kissam III, was killed in an automobile accident in South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
while driving home to New York City from his father's Florida estate. His son had inherited his father's love of fast cars and exotic travel and in his memory, Willie K Vanderbilt added a new wing to his Eagle's Nest home in Long Island to house memorabilia, trophies, and souvenirs including those from his son's Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n safaris. He then opened the estate for public viewing several days a week and organized his will so that upon his death the Eagle's Nest property along with a $2 million upkeep fund would be given to Suffolk County, New York
Suffolk County, New York
Suffolk County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York on the eastern portion of Long Island. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,493,350. It was named for the county of Suffolk in England, from which its earliest settlers came...
to serve as a public museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
, the Vanderbilt Museum
Vanderbilt Museum
The Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum is located in Centerport on the North Shore of Long Island in Suffolk County, New York, USA. Named for William K...
.
Willie Kissam Vanderbilt II died on January 8, 1944 of a heart ailment and was interred in the family mausoleum at the Moravian Cemetery on Staten Island, New York.
Ancestry
External links
- William K. Vanderbilt Jr. (VanderbiltCupRaces.com)