Harold Stirling Vanderbilt (July 6, 1884 – July 4, 1970) was a member of the prominent United States Vanderbilt family who was a railroad executive, a champion yachtsman and a champion bridge player.
Born in Oakdale, New York, the third child and second son of William Kissam Vanderbilt and Alva Erskine Smith, to family and friends he was known by the nickname "Mike." He was a brother to William Kissam Vanderbilt II and Consuelo Vanderbilt. Harold...
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Harold Stirling Vanderbilt (July 6, 1884 – July 4, 1970) was a member of the prominent United States Vanderbilt family who was a railroad executive, a champion yachtsman and a champion bridge player.
Born in Oakdale, New York, the third child and second son of William Kissam Vanderbilt and Alva Erskine Smith, to family and friends he was known by the nickname "Mike." He was a brother to William Kissam Vanderbilt II and Consuelo Vanderbilt. Harold was the great-grandson of Cornelius Vanderbilt, the shipping and railroad tycoon who also helped found Vanderbilt University. Born to great wealth, he was raised in Vanderbilt mansions, traveled to Europe frequently, and sailed around the world on yachts owned by his father.
Educated by tutors and at private schools, including St. Mark's School, Harold Vanderbilt attended Harvard College (AB 1907) and Harvard Law School, graduating in 1910. He then joined the New York Central Railroad Company, the centerpiece of his family's vast railway...
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