Oliver Belmont

Birth Name:
Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont
Birth Date:
November 12, 1858
Birth Place:
New York City, New York
Death Date:
June 10, 1908
Place of Death:
Brookholt Estate, East Meadow, New York
Age:
49
Cause of Death:
Appendicitis
Cemetery Name:
Woodlawn Cemetery
Claim to Fame:
Business and Finance
Oliver Belmont was an American socialite and United States Representative from New York. Belmont was a member of the banking firm of August Belmont and Co., New York City. He became publisher of the Verdict, a weekly paper. Oliver was husband to the prominent multi-millionaire American socialite and a major figure in the American women's suffrage movement, Alva Vanderbilt Belmont.

Fun Fact

Yes, the Belmont Stakes are named after August Belmont, a financier who made quite a name and fortune for himself in New York politics and society. Obviously, Mr. Belmont was also quite involved in horse racing, and his imprint is even intertwined within the history of the Kentucky Derby. However, the one thing the Belmont does have over the Derby is that it is the oldest of the three Triple Crown events. The Belmont predates the Preakness by six years, the Kentucky Derby by eight. The first running of the Belmont Stakes was in 1867 at Jerome Park, on, believe it or not, a Thursday. At a mile and five furlongs, the conditions included an entry fee of $200, half forfeit with $1,500 added. Furthermore, not only is the Belmont the oldest Triple Crown race, but it is the fourth oldest race overall in North America.

Cemetery Information:

Final Resting Place:

Woodlawn Cemetery

4199 Webster Avenue

Bronx, New York, 10470

USA

North America

Map:

Map of Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, New York City
Map of Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, New York City

Grave Location:

Whitewood Plot, Section 134

Grave Location Description

From the Jerome Avenue entrance turn right on West Border Avenue until you reach the first intersection. Look to your left and you will see the large, chapel-like structure which is actually the mausoleum of Alva and her husband Oliver.

Grave Location GPS

40.886798, -73.876808

Visiting The Grave:

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Sarah Winchester

popular name: Sarah Winchester

date_of_death: September 5, 1922

age: 83

cause_of_death: Congestive heart failure

claim_to_fame: Business and Finance

best_know_for: Sarah Winchester was an American heiress who amassed great wealth after the death of her husband, William Wirt Winchester (son of Winchester Repeating Arms Company founder Oliver Winchester). Her inheritance included $20 million ($606.5 million in 2022) as well as a 50% holding in the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, which made her one of the wealthiest women in the world at the time. Sarah Winchester was, supposedly, so racked with guilt and haunted by the spirits of those killed by the Winchester firearms that she started building a house in California because a medium advised her that endless building would appease the dead. Construction, which continued 24 hours per day 7 days a week, only stopped when she died. The only problem with this narrative is that it is 100% completely false. And to make matters worse, the owners of the Winchester Mystery House continue to this day to repeat this myth to thousands of visitors every day to the home in San Jose. The fact of the matter is Sarah Winchester was not a crazy, guilt-ridden millionaire who sought guidence from ghost whispers, but rather she was highly educated, spoke multiple languages fluently, and moved to California for her health. She purchased a modest (by her standards) farmhouse and started work on her architectual marval. Aside from its immense size and Victorian style architecture, the House has a number of unique characteristics. To begin, it is undeniably a labyrinth. There are literally miles of maze-like corridors and twisting hallways, some of which have dead ends—forcing the traveler to turn around and back-up. There are also some centrally located passages and stairways that serve as shortcuts allowing a virtual leap from one side of the House to the other. Although Sarah’s labyrinthine House serves the same function as the ancient prototypes, her labyrinth is more a symbolic introductory step into her puzzle. The greatest test for the initiate lies in his ability to understand and identify Mrs. Winchester’s remarkable mix of symbols and numbered code. Sarah’s love of Geometry and specific symmetric numbers is prominently displayed throughout the House. When Winchester died in 1922 the house had 160 rooms, 2,000 doors, 10,000 windows, 47 stairways, 47 fireplaces, 13 bathrooms, and 6 kitchens.

Samuel Colt

popular name: Samuel Colt

date_of_death: January 10, 1862

age: 47

cause_of_death: Complications of gout

claim_to_fame: Business and Finance

best_know_for: Samuel Colt was an inventor, industrialist, and businessman who established Colt's Patent Fire-Arms Manufacturing Company (now Colt's Manufacturing Company) in Hartford, Connecticut and made the mass production of revolvers commercially viable. Colt's first two business ventures were producing firearms in Paterson, New Jersey, and making underwater mines; both ended in disappointment. His business affairs improved rapidly after 1847, when the Texas Rangers ordered 1,000 revolvers during the American war with Mexico. Later, his firearms were used widely during the settling of the western frontier. Colt's success came from his sophisticated manufacturing methods such as the use of interchangeable parts which helped him become one of the first to use the assembly line efficiently. Moreover, his innovative use of art, celebrity endorsements, and corporate gifts to promote his wares made him a pioneer of advertising, product placement, and mass marketing. Colt died in 1862 as one of the wealthiest men in America worth in excess of $440 million in today's money.

Harold Stirling Vanderbilt

popular name: Harold Stirling Vanderbilt

date_of_death: July 4, 1970

age: 85

cause_of_death:

claim_to_fame: Business and Finance

best_know_for: Harold Stirling Vanderbilt was an American railroad executive, a champion yachtsman, an innovator and champion player of contract bridge, and a member of the Vanderbilt family. Vanderbilt was a director of the New York Central Railroad from 1913 and was a driving force behind the rail network until he was defeated for the control of the company in 1954. He was also known as a card game enthusiast. In 1925, while on board SS Finland, he originated changes to the scoring system through which the game of contract bridge supplanted auction bridge in popularity. He also served as commodore of the New York Yacht Club from 1922 to 1924, and won six "King's Cups" and five Astor Cups at regattas between 1922 and 1938. Mr. Vanderbilt, who stood 6 feet tall, was a commanding figure whether at the helm of a Cup defender or on the tennis court, where he was also an excellent performer. Unlike many of the local wealthy families, he showed little interest in the social events of Newport.

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