George Washington Vanderbilt was an American capitalist, agriculturist. He was a pioneer in forestry.
Background
George Washington Vanderbilt was the youngest son of William Henry and Maria Louisa (Kissam) Vanderbilt. He was born on November 14, 1862, near New Dorp, Staten Island, New York.
Until the death of his widowed mother in 1896, he lived with her in her New York home.
Education
George Washington Vanderbilt was educated mostly by private tutors, and spent much of his youth in touring the world with them.
He had studied architecture, forestry, and landscape gardening in preparation for it.
Career
Vanderbilt worked with the architect, Richard Morris Hunt, on the plans, and superintended the construction of the building, the final cost of which was reported as $3, 000, 000. He spent millions more in improving the estate, which he named "Biltmore. " Frederick Law Olmsted was the landscape gardener.
He offered to sell the major portion of his forest land to the United States for a forest reserve, but the offer was not accepted until after his death when the government bought a large tract from Mrs. Vanderbilt. He died in Washington, D. C. , after an operation for appendicitis.
Achievements
Personality
Vanderbilt bought another home in Washington, but spent most of his time in his Carolina mountains, overseeing his numerous operations, studying trees, birds, and animals, or doing research in his large library, which was especially rich in works on nature.
He spoke eight languages and had a reading acquaintance with others.
He was shy and studious, caring little for finance, though he succeeded in increasing his own fortune materially during his lifetime. He fell in love with the mountains of western North Carolina, and in 1889 began buying land south and southwest of Asheville, eventually acquiring 130, 000 acres, it is said, including Mount Pisgah (5, 749 feet), one of the most beautiful peaks in the Appalachians. Here he planned the finest country home in America.
Quotes from others about the person
"The stimulus afforded by his example towards improved agricultural methods in the South is beyond all estimate. "
Connections
Vanderbilt married on June 2, 1898, Edith Stuyvesant Dresser of Newport, Rhode Island, who proved a congenial helpmate in all his plans. He had a daughter, Cornelia Stuyvesant.