Texts on Wikisource:
- "Astor, John Jacob, capitalist". Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. 1900. An article on his uncle in which he is mentioned.
- "Astor, John Jacob. An American capitalist, inventor, and soldier". New International Encyclopedia. 1905.
- "Astor, John Jacob, American capitalist and inventor". Encyclopedia Americana. 1920.
- "Astor, John Jacob, an American capitalist". Collier's New Encyclopedia. 1921.
Millions of reasons to kill John Jacob Astor IV
Astor's huge fortune and financial empire: The Astor Trust
Photo of Astor Trust Building in New York (1917)
Friendship with Nikola Tesla and investments in Tesla's Experiments
Business partnerships with J.P. Morgan in Niagara power station schemes
War of the Currents (AC vs DC, metered electricity versus free electricity)
J.P. Morgan's decision to back Thomas Edison and metered electricity
Opposition by Astor, who continues to back Tesla
First Wife: Ava Lowle Willing
A Nasty Divorce: Yet Another Motive for Murder?
Ava remarries in 1911 to an English Baron: Thomas Lister, 4th Baron Ribblesdale
J.J. remarries in 1911 to a young beauty: Madeleine Talmadge Force
Social scandal convinces the newly weds to get out of town
Honeymoon in Egypt
Social scandal convinces the newly weds to get out of town
Honeymoon in Egypt
Sources:
Wikipedia "John Jacob Astor IV"
Wikipedia "Ava Lowle Willing"
Wikipedia "Thomas Lister, 4th Baron Ribblesdale"
Wikipedia "Madeleine Talmadge Force"
Below, left: A grief-stricken Madeleine Astor captured by a newsman's camera. Below, right: Newsies hand out papers announcing the Titanic Disaster, subheaded "Mrs. Astor Is Saved" . . . as if she were the only person among 1,514 dead who really counted.
