John Jacob Astor facts for kids

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Quick facts for kids John Jacob Astor
Portrait by John Wesley Jarvis, c. 1825
Born	Johann Jakob Astor (1763-07-17)July 17, 1763 Walldorf, Electoral Palatinate, Holy Roman Empire
Died	March 29, 1848(1848-03-29) (aged 84) New York City, U.S.
Burial place	Trinity Church Cemetery
Occupation	Businessman merchant real estate mogul investor fur trader
Known for	First multi-millionaire businessman in the United States
Spouse(s)	Sarah Cox Todd (m. 1785; died 1832)
Children	8, including William
Relatives	See Astor family
Signature

John Jacob Astor (born Johann Jakob Astor; July 17, 1763 – March 29, 1848) was a very successful businessman, merchant, and investor. He was born in Germany and later became an American citizen. Astor became incredibly wealthy by trading furs, selling valuable goods to China, and investing in land and buildings in New York City. He was the first famous member of the Astor family and the first person in the United States to become a multi-millionaire.

When he was a teenager, Astor moved from Germany to England, where he worked making musical instruments. After the American Revolutionary War, he moved to the United States. He saw a great opportunity as people moved westward, so he started a fur trading business. His business grew into a huge empire, reaching from the Great Lakes region all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Later, when the demand for fur changed, he wisely shifted his focus. In 1830, he left the fur trade and started investing in land and buildings in New York City. This made him even wealthier. John Jacob Astor became one of the richest people in the United States and supported many artists and cultural projects.

When John Jacob Astor passed away in 1848, his fortune was estimated to be between $20 and $30 million. This was an enormous amount of money back then. It made him one of the wealthiest people in American history, especially when compared to the total wealth of the country at that time. People even said that a large portion of the money in the United States ended up in his hands.

The Life of John Jacob Astor
Marriage and Family
Community Involvement
Legacy
See also

The Life of John Jacob Astor

Early Years and Moving to England

John Jacob Astor was born as Johann Jakob Astor in 1763. His hometown was Walldorf, a small town in what is now Germany. He was the youngest of four brothers. As a child, he helped in his father's butcher shop and sold dairy products. When he was 16, in 1779, he moved to London, England. There, he worked with his brother George for an uncle who made pianos and flutes. During this time, he learned to speak English and changed his name to John Jacob Astor.

Starting Fresh in America

In November 1783, right after the American Revolutionary War ended, Astor sailed to the United States. He arrived in Baltimore in early 1784. He met Sarah Cox Todd, and they married in 1785. Astor had planned to join his brother Henry, who owned a butcher shop in New York City. However, during his journey, he met a fur trader. This meeting inspired him to enter the exciting North American fur trade. After helping his brother for a while, Astor started buying animal hides from Native Americans. He prepared these furs himself and sold them for a good profit in London and other places. By the late 1780s, he opened his own fur shop in New York. He also helped manage his uncle's musical instrument business in the city. In 1789, he even helped start a piano company called the Francis Bacon Piano Company.

Building a Fur Trading Empire

John Jacob Astor, painted around 1794

Astor was very good at spotting business opportunities. He used the 1794 Jay Treaty between Great Britain and the United States to his advantage. This treaty opened up new trading areas in Canada and the Great Lakes region. He made a deal with the North West Company, a big fur trading group in Montreal. This company was a rival to the Hudson's Bay Company. Astor brought furs from Montreal to New York and then sent them to Europe. By 1800, he had already earned a lot of money and was a top leader in the fur trade. His workers were very competitive as they expanded his business across western areas. In 1800, Astor also started trading with China. He sent furs, teas, and sandalwood to the port of Canton and made a lot of money from these valuable goods.

The U.S. Embargo Act of 1807 made it hard for Astor to trade because it stopped business with Canada. But Astor found a way forward. With President Thomas Jefferson's approval, he started the American Fur Company in 1808. He then created smaller companies, like the Pacific Fur Company, to control fur trading in the Great Lakes and Columbia River areas. His trading post at Fort Astoria, built in 1811, was the first American settlement on the Pacific coast. Astor also funded the Astor Expedition, which explored the land between 1810 and 1812. This expedition discovered South Pass, a route through the Rocky Mountains. Later, many settlers used this pass on trails like the Oregon Trail and California Trail.

The War of 1812 caused problems for Astor's fur business. The British took over some of his trading posts. However, Astor was resilient. After the war, his business bounced back. In 1817, the U.S. Congress passed a law that helped American fur traders by limiting foreign competition. This allowed the American Fur Company to become the main fur trading business around the Great Lakes. Astor owned a home in New York City and a country estate called Hellgate.

In 1822, Astor set up the Robert Stuart House on Mackinac Island in Michigan. This became the main office for his American Fur Company. The island became a very important center for the fur trade. A famous writer, Washington Irving, even wrote a book called Astoria about Astor's adventures. Astor's commercial connections reached all over the world, and his ships sailed on every ocean. He and his wife, Sarah, lived in a townhouse on Prince Street in New York City.

Investing in Real Estate and Retirement

Astor started buying land in New York City in 1799. He bought many properties along the waterfront. After 1800, using the money he earned from trading with China, he became very focused on investing in New York real estate. In 1803, he bought a large 70-acre farm where he built the Astor Mansion at Hellgate. This property stretched from Broadway to the Hudson River. He also bought a lot of land from Aaron Burr around the same time.

By the 1830s, Astor realized that New York City was going to grow very quickly and become one of the world's greatest cities. So, he sold all his fur trading businesses and other ventures. He used that money to buy and develop huge areas of land on Manhattan Island. Astor correctly predicted that the city would expand northward. He bought more and more land outside the city limits of that time. Astor usually did not build on his land himself. Instead, he leased it to others, who would pay him rent and use the land. After retiring from his businesses, Astor spent the rest of his life supporting culture and the arts. He helped the bird expert John James Audubon with his studies and travels. He also supported the political campaign of Henry Clay.

Marriage and Family

Sarah Cox Todd

On September 19, 1785, Astor married Sarah Cox Todd. She was born on April 9, 1762, and passed away on August 3, 1832. Her parents were Scottish immigrants. Even though she brought only $300 to the marriage, she was very good with money and had excellent business sense. Astor often said her judgment was better than most merchants. She helped him with his business and managed his affairs when he was away from New York.

They had eight children:

Magdalena Astor (1788–1832)
Sarah Todd Astor (1790–1790), who was stillborn.
John Jacob Astor Jr. (1791–1869), who was often sick.
William Backhouse Astor Sr. (1792–1875)
Dorothea Astor (1795–1874)
Henry Astor II (1797–1799), who died as a child.
Eliza Astor (1801–1838)
An unnamed son (1802–1802), who died shortly after birth.

Community Involvement

Astor was a member of the Freemasons, a fraternal organization. He served as the leader of Holland Lodge #8 in New York City in 1788. Later, he was the Grand Treasurer for the Grand Lodge of New York. He also served as president of the German Society of the City of New York from 1837 to 1841.

Legacy

When John Jacob Astor died in 1848, he was the wealthiest person in the United States. His fortune was estimated to be between $20 and $30 million.

In his will, Astor left $400,000 to build the Astor Library for the public in New York. This library later joined with others to form the famous New York Public Library. He also left $50,000 to build a home for the poor and an orphanage in his German hometown of Walldorf. This building, called the Astorhaus, is now a museum honoring Astor.

Astor left most of his fortune to his second son, William. His eldest son, John Jr., was not well, so Astor made sure he had enough money to be cared for throughout his life. William continued to grow the family's wealth. He was an ancestor of other famous family members like John Jacob Astor III and John Jacob Astor IV.

Astor is buried in Trinity Church Cemetery in Manhattan. Many of his family members were part of that church, but Astor remained a member of his local German Reformed church until his death. The writer Herman Melville mentioned Astor in his short story Bartleby, the Scrivener as a symbol of the first wealthy people in New York.

The two marble lion statues at the entrance of the New York Public Library Main Branch were originally named Leo Astor and Leo Lenox. They were named after Astor and James Lenox, who helped start the library. Later, Mayor Fiorello La Guardia renamed them "Patience" and "Fortitude" during the Great Depression.

Many places are named after John Jacob Astor:

The neighborhood of Astoria in Queens, New York City.
Astor Place in Manhattan, New York City.
The coastal town of Astoria, Oregon, and an elementary school there. The story of this town's founding is in Washington Irving's book Astoria, which Astor helped fund.
The historic neighborhood of Astor Park in Green Bay, Wisconsin. In 1835, John Jacob Astor founded the Town of Astor in Wisconsin.
A busy intersection in Budapest, Hungary, and its metro station, are indirectly named after him because of the Grand Budapest Astoria Hotel located there.
In 1908, when a football club was formed in Astor's birthplace in Germany, they added "Astoria" to their name to honor him and his family.