William Waldorf Astor

Place: New York City

Born: 1848

Death: 1919

Biography:

William Waldorf Astor, also known as William Louis Astor, was an American-born English politician, diplomat, and patron of the press. He was born in New York City in 1848, the only child of John Jacob Astor III. Astor was educated in Germany and Italy, and later at the Columbia law school. He inherited the vast fortunes of the Astor family, which was a wealthy and influential family of German origin that had settled in the United States in the 18th century. Astor became a member of the House of Lords in the United Kingdom, and was known for his political and diplomatic work. He died in Brighton, England in 1919.