Harry Payne Whitney
Harry Payne Whitney | |
---|---|
Hudson Bay Mining & Smelting Co. | |
Spouse | |
Children | Flora, Cornelius, and Barbara |
Parent(s) | William Collins Whitney Flora Payne |
Family | Whitney |
Honors | Pillars of the Turf (2018) U.S. Polo Hall of Fame (1990) |
Harry Payne Whitney (April 29, 1872 – October 26, 1930) was an American businessman, thoroughbred horse breeder, and member of the prominent Whitney family.[1]
Early years
Whitney was born in
Whitney studied at Groton School in Groton, Massachusetts, then attended Yale University, graduating in 1894. He was a member of the Skull and Bones. After Yale, he spent two years at Columbia Law School, but he never finished the course and decided to enter the world of sports and business.[2][3][4] He was a member of the class of 1898.[5] In 1904, after the death of his father, he inherited $24,000,000, and in 1917, he inherited approximately $12,000,000 along with the large steam yacht Aphrodite from his uncle, Oliver Hazard Payne.[6][7]
Sporting career
An avid sportsman, Whitney was a ten-goal
He was a board member of the
Whitney enjoyed quail hunting and purchased the 14,000-acre (57 km2) Foshalee Plantation in northern Leon County, Florida, from Sydney E. Hutchinson of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[8]
Thoroughbred horse racing
Whitney was a major figure in Thoroughbred racing and in 2018 was voted one of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame's most prestigious honors as one of the Pillars of the Turf.[9]
Harry Whitney inherited a large stable from his father including the great
Whitney had nineteen horses who ran in the Kentucky Derby, winning it the first time in 1915 with another Broomstick foal, Regret, the first filly ever to capture the race. Regret went on to earn Horse of the Year honors and was named to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. Whitney won the Kentucky Derby for the second time in 1927 with the colt Whiskery. His record of six wins in the Preakness Stakes stood as the most by any breeder until 1968 when Calumet Farm broke the record. Whitney's colt Burgomaster won the 1906 Belmont Stakes and also received Horse of the Year honors. Among the many horses, Whitney's breeding operation produced Equipoise and Johren.
Whitney's stable won the following prestigious U.S. Triple Crown races:
His Lexington, Kentucky stud farm was passed on to his son, C.V. Whitney, who owned it until 1989 when it became part of Gainesway Farm.
Personal life
On August 25, 1896, he married Gertrude Vanderbilt (1875–1942), a member of the wealthy Vanderbilt family. In New York, the couple lived in town houses originally belonging to William Whitney, first at 2 East 57th St., across the street from Gertrude's parents, and after William Whitney's death, at 871 Fifth Avenue.[10] They also had a country estate in Westbury, Long Island.[11] Together, they had three children:[12][11]
- Flora Payne Whitney (1897-1986)
- Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney (1899-1992)
- Barbara Vanderbilt Whitney (1903-1982).[13]
Harry Whitney died in 1930 at age fifty-eight.
Whitney owned numerous incarnations of his father's Pullman Wanderer rail car.
Philanthropy
The benefactor to many organizations, in 1920 H.P. Whitney financed the
The Whitney Collection of Sporting Art was donated in his memory to the Yale University Art Gallery.
References
- ^ a b c d Times Wide World (27 October 1930). "H.P. Whitney Dies at 58 of Pneumonia; Ill Only a Few Days; Sportsman and Financier Succumbs Unexpectedly at His Fifth Avenue Home. Caught Cold On Tuesday His Wife, the Former Gertrude Vanderbilt, and Their Three Children at Bedside. He Inherited a Fortune Built Up Vast Properties and Became One of Nation's Richest Men -- Famed for Racing Stables. One of America's Richest Men. H.P. Whitney Dies at 58 of Pneumonia Heir to Wealth and Prestige. Guggenheim Guided His Start. Known Also as Dog Fancier. Many Concerns Now Merged". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
- ^ "Vanderbilt Cup Races - Blog - VanderbiltCupRaces.com Profile: Harry Payne Whitney". www.vanderbiltcupraces.com. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
- )
- OCLC 1081338957.
- ^ Columbia Alumni News. Alumni Council of Columbia University. 1923.
- ^ "Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney [1875-1942]". New Netherland Institute. Archived from the original on 30 August 2012. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
- LCCN 87060259. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
- ISBN 978-0-8130-0718-2pp. 83
- ^ "Hall of Fame Announces 12 New Pillars of the Turf". Thoroughbred Daily News. 23 May 2018. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
- ^ Adams, Michael Henry. "The Most Palatial House in New York: Stanford White's William Collins Whitney Residence!". Michael Henry Adams, Style and Taste!. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
- ^ ISBN 1-57958-048-3. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
- ISBN 0-688-07279-8. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
- ^ Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney Archived 2012-08-30 at the Wayback Machine at www.nnp.org
- ^ Vanderbilt, 354.
- ^ "Harry Payne Whitney, Youthful Guard of Millions; He Says His Life Will Be Devoted to Business -- He May Sell Horses Some Day, but Not Now" (PDF). Time. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
External links
- "Gentleman's Estate". Time. 30 July 1934. Archived from the original on 9 February 2009. Retrieved 9 August 2008.
- June 5, 1904 New York Times article on Harry Payne Whitney
- Harry Payne Whitney obituary