Millionaire Colonel John Jacob Astor, born in 1864, was the heir to a huge fortune from a locomotive manufacturer and gold mining company, making him one of the richest man in the world. He managed his family’s real estate fortune and became a developer himself, becoming the founder of New York’s famed Waldorf Astoria hotel, the Knickerbocker and St. Regis hotel. After a first failed marriage, he married Madeline Force, 18 years old, who was 6 months pregnant when they boarded the RMS Titanic. While the Titanic was sinking, he and his wife got on a lifeboat which was full, so they both gave out their seats to leave room for a 3rd class woman and her child. He then put his wife on one of the last lifeboats and when he asked if he could accompany her, he was turned down by Charles Lightoller, the second officer on board. John Astor proceeded to give his pregnant wife his pair of gloves as a last souvenir. As the ship went down, he was seen walking Kitty, their dog. His body was found with 750 British pounds in his pocket and covered in soot, probably caused by being crushed by the forward funnel. Madeline, his wife, inherited his fortune and named her son after his father.
The Titanic, One Century Later 