Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney (1899 - 1992)

Born 20 Feb 1899 in Roslyn, Nassau County, New York, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Gwladys Crosby (Hopkins) Elliott — married 30 Sep 1931 (to about 1940) in Chester, Pennsylvania, United States

Husband of Marie Louise (Schroeder) Whitney — married 1958 in Carson City, Nevada, United States

Died 13 Dec 1992 at age 93 in Saratoga, Saratoga County, New York, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Paul Leonard [send private message]

Biography

Cornelius ( 'Sonny' ) Vanderbilt Whitney; Financier, Sportsman, Adventurer, Explorer and Philanthropist. Son of Harry Payne Whitney ( 1872 - 1930 ), and Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney ( 1875 - 1942 ); grandson, and namesake, of Cornelius Vanderbilt II, head of the Vanderbilt family in the third generation.

C. V. Whitney was educated at the Groton School in Massachusetts and at Yale University. In 1916 he joined the Signal Corps and subsequently the United States Army Air Force, where he became a chief instructor in advanced fighter tactics, being awarded the Legion of Merit and the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Turning to the world of finance, his success was as marked as it had been in the military. In 1927 he co-founded Pan American Airways, later assumed control of the Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Company, and developed Marineland in Florida.

In the 1930s, he, his cousin Jock Whitney, and David Selznick formed 'Selznick International' which produced successful films such as "Gone With The Wind". During World War II, Whitney returned to the U. S. Air Force advancing to the rank of Colonel. From 1947 to 1949 he was Assistant Secretary of the Air Force.

In 1949 he became the Under Secretary of Commerce of the United States, and in 1950 he was appointed special envoy of President Truman to England, Luxemburg, Italy and Spain.

In the world of sports he excelled as a polo player, and was captain of the American award winning Old Westbury Polo Team of Long Island. He would go on to be a major figure in the world of horse racing, and breeding, winning over one million dollars in the year 1960 alone.

Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney passed away peacefully at his beloved Saratoga Springs home, 'Cady Hill'; services being held in the small chapel he had built on the estate grounds before internment at Greenridge Cemetery, in a plain pine box, as he had requested.

Sources

• Wikipedia: Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney
• Wikidata: Item Q17144522, en:Wikipedia

• "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MSJX-6TF : accessed 10 December 2020), Cornelius V Whitney in household of Harry R Whitney, North Hempstead Township, Election District 6, Nassau, New York, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 715, sheet 14A, family 277, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,241,079.

• "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M58G-MG9 : accessed 10 December 2020), Cornelius Whitney in household of Harry P Whitney, Manhattan Ward 19, New York, New York, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 1161, sheet 20A, family , NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 1043; FHL microfilm 1,375,056.

• "United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MJBP-JB1 : accessed 10 December 2020), Cornelius V Whitney in household of Harry Payne Whitney, New York City, New York, United States; citing ED 1076, sheet 15A, line 4, family 177, NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1992), roll 1213; FHL microfilm 1,821,213.

• "United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, 1980-2014," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV5L-17ZD : accessed 10 June 2015), Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney in entry for Cornelius Vanderbilt Or Sonny Whitney, Colorado, United States, 14 Dec 1992; from "Recent Newspaper Obituaries (1977 - Today)," database, GenealogyBank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com : 2014); citing , born-digital text.

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/229292478/cornelius-vanderbilt-whitney : accessed ), memorial page for Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney (20 Feb 1899–13 Dec 1992),Find A Grave: Memorial #229292478, citing Greenridge Cemetery, Saratoga Springs, Saratoga County, New York, USA ; Maintained by Bobby Kelley (contributor 46959922) .