Evening star., 1942-03-02
Cornelius Vanderbilt Dies
At 68 Aboard Yacht in Miami
Finuncier's Final
Hours Spent Under
Oxygen Tent

By the Associated Press.
MIAMI, Fla, March 2.-Cornelius
Vanderbilt, whose rugged individ-
ualism lost his family's great wealth
to him for a time but led to per-
sonal honors in military, engineer
ing and financial fields, is dead at
68.
His colorful life ended at 6 pm
last night aboard yacht, the Am
bassadress, which he chartered for
the season after turning his own
palatial yacht, Winchester, and
houseboat, Sabiha, over to the Navy
for ST. each.
He was stricken Saturday with
cerebral hemorrhage aboard the
Ambassadors, moored to a pier in
Miami's yacht basin. His last
hours were spent under an oxygen
tent. The body will be sent to New
York tomorrow for services and
burial.
Soldier and Financier.
Cornelius. great grandson of
Commodore Vanderbilt and third to
bear the name of the founder of
the family fortune, chose to forego
control of the family's vast railroad
and other interests, his rightful
inheritance, and carve out a career
Of his own.
He gained fame as an inventor,
engineer, soldier, business man and
f1nancier. He devised improve
ments for locomotives, launched
New York's first subway, and was
director of railroad, insurance and
other corporations.
Saw Action at Ypres.
Cornelius Vanderbilt loved rail-
roads and boats, but was proudeSt
of his military career This he
started by enlisting in the 9th In
fantry. New York National Guard,
in 1901.
When the United States entered
the first World War, he went to
France as commander of the 102d
Engineers. No armchair officer, he
saw action, part of it in the violent
Battle of Ypres. He won the Dis
tinguished Service Medal of the
United States. the Belgian Croix de
Guerre, Britain's Ypres Medal, and
was made Knight Commander of
the Order of the Crown of Belgium
and Commander of the French Le-
gion of Honor. He held the rank
of brigadier general in the United
States Army Reserve.
Gen. Vanderbilt's independent
course started when he defied his
father and married When the par
ent died in 1899, the son was "cut
off with S1,OO000O" The bulk of the
huge estate of S80,0O0,OOO was be-
queathed to a brother, Alfred
Gwynne Vanderbilt. who perished in
the LuSitania disaster of May, 1915.
Other brothers and sisters received
approximately S7,5OO,OO0 each.
Later Alfred gave his elder broth
er s6,500,00O so his share would
equal that of the other heirs. But
the family breach was not entirely
healed for long time.
Remembered in Mothers Will.
When the mother died in 1884 her
will provided for Gen. Vanderbilt a
life interest in her residuary estate
The value of this bequest was not
given.
Gen. Vanderbilt was born Sep
tember 5, 1873, the son of Cornelius,
jr., and Alice Gwynne Vanderbilt
He prepared for college at ST. Pauls
School, Concord, N. H. From Yale
he received three degrees in course,
A. B., 1895; Phi. B., 1898, and M. E.
(Shefield, 1899.
His engineering studies were sup
plemented by practical work as
machinist in the shops of the New
York Central Railroad. While there
he perfected a corrugated fire-box
for locomotives which proved a saver
of fuel and was adopted by several
railroads. Also he designed tender
and several safety devices for loco
motives.
Gen. Vanderbilt's marriage was
perhaps the most talked about in
the original AGO" 1t created a
schism in social circles as we'll as
in the Vanderbilt family.
The bride was Grace Wilson,
youngest daughter of Richard T.
Wilson, once store clerk at Knox
vile, Tenn, who had pyramided
meager savings into S15,0O0,000 by
deals in cotton. Grace Wilson was
introduced to New York society in
1895 and her romance with Wander
bilt developed swiftly.
She was several years his senior
and his parents tried to break up