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Astor

John Jacob Astor IV

John Jacob Astor IV
(click to enlarge)

John Jacob Astor IV (July 13, 1864 - April 15, 1912) was an American businessman, real estate builder, investor, inventor, writer, lieutenant colonel in the Spanish-American War and a member of the prominent Astor family.

Astor died in the sinking of the RMS Titanic during the early hours of April 15, 1912. He was among the 1,514 people on board who did not survive. He was the richest passenger aboard the Titanic and was thought to be among the richest people in the world at that time, with a net worth of nearly $87 million when he died (equivalent to $2.13 billion in 2015). (Wikipedia, John Jacob Astor IV)


Keely
"Had Mr. Brewster asked me to make a proposition to them after I had refused his proposition on Nov. 7, I was prepared, on the same condition Col. Astor had accepted from me Oct. 23, to place under their control the "privileges" that I acquired by contract with Mr. Keely. [see Agreement between Bloomfield-Moore and Keely]

"When, on Nov. 5, the unauthorized and untrue statements of Col. Astor's transaction were made public I said that plans formed to have the scientific value of Mr. Keely's discoveries acknowledged publicly before commercial success is attained had been refuted for the third time within five years. I then despaired of accomplishing these aims, and Nov. 7, all negotiations with the financiers were abruptly brought to a close. [from Mrs. Moore on the Keely Motor] [See Moore's commitment to support Keely]

"Official denial is given to the report that Astor or Vanderbilt money will be inverted in the company." [Affairs of the Keely Motor Company]

11/8/1895 - It is reported that Mr. John Jacob Astor has recently purchased a large interest in the Keely motor from a person who for some years past has been an enthusiastic advocate of Mr. Keely. http://www.svpvril.com/svpweb24.html#KEELY%27S%20MOTOR

"I agreed to go with Mr. Astor and the Electrician who invented the dynamo plates a patent for which he has taken out and was about forming a company when he read my article in the July number of the N.S.R. New Science Review and decided to see me if possible before doing anything in that direction." [Letter from Bloomfield-Moore to Cornelia]

Believe it or not John W. Keely was placed in an unmarked grave! This is amazing considering none other than John Jacob Astor was reported to be one of his pallbearers! The exact location is West Laurel Hill Cemetery located at 215 Belmont Avenue, Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. Bala Cynwyd is part of greater Philadelphia. The burial plot is number 313 of River section. [A Monument for John Worrell Keely]

Keely Motor Stock purchased by John J. Astor [Keely - The New York Times]

It is reported that Mr. John Jacob Astor has recently purchased a large interest in the Keely motor from a person who for some years past has been an enthusiastic advocate of Mr. Keely. [Keelys Motor]

"The Keely motor which has remained in innocuous dessuetude for several years has been revived. A recent telegram from New York says that John Jacob Astor, the millionaire, has interested himself in it.
Mr. Astor visited Keely's laboratory and work shops recently, taking with him Mr. Samuels, the well-known electrician who invented the new electrical storage battery now in Astor's yacht, and who has been interested with Astor in the development of new storage batteries, Samuels said to Astor: "There's no use in our devoting any more time to electricity. Here's something far better. When Keely has constructed his railway traction engine, possessing rights over all the world, and using costless force, and when a patent has been taken out on it, the value of this discovery will be found to be incalculable." [The Keely Motor - Arizona Weekly Journal-Miner]

Books


"A Journey in Other Worlds," by John Jacob Astor IV.

See Also


Affairs of the Keely Motor Company
Airship Timeline
apergy
Apergy - Power Without Cost
Astor and Keely to Confer Again
Letter from Bloomfield-Moore to Cornelia
A Monument for John Worrell Keely
Keely - The New York Times
Keelys Motor
Chronology
The Keely Motor - Arizona Weekly Journal-Miner
Mrs. Moore on the Keely Motor
Moore's commitment to support Keely
Keely - Historical Documents

Created by Dale Pond. Last Modification: Sunday October 9, 2022 16:38:37 MDT by Dale Pond.