Social club in New York City
TheKnickerbocker Club (known informally asThe Knick ) is agentlemen's club in New York City that was founded in 1871. It is considered to be the most exclusive club in the United States and one of the mostaristocratic gentlemen's clubs in the world.[ 1] [ 2] [ 3]
The termKnickerbocker arose partly due to the use of the pen nameDiedrich Knickerbocker by writerWashington Irving , and was a byword for a New Yorkpatrician , comparable to a "Boston Brahmin ".[ 4] [ 5]
The 1882 clubhouse, located atFifth Avenue and 32nd Street The Knickerbocker Club was founded in 1871 by members of theUnion Club of the City of New York who were concerned that the club's admission standards had fallen.[ 6] social club membership was dwindling, in large part because of the movement of wealthy families to the suburbs. In 1959, the Knickerbocker Club considered rejoining the Union Club, merging its 550 members with the Union Club's 900 men, but the plan never came to fruition.[ 6]
The current clubhouse at 2 East 62nd Street, photographed in 2011 The Knick's current clubhouse, aneo-Georgian structure at 2 East 62nd Street, was commissioned in 1913 and completed in 1915,[ 7] [ 8] William Adams Delano andChester Holmes Aldrich ,[ 6] [ 7]
Members of the Knickerbocker Club are almost exclusively descendants of British and Dutcharistocratic families that governed the early 1600sAmerican Colonies or that left the Old Continent for political reasons (e.g. partisans of the Royalist coalition againstCromwell , such as the"distressed Cavaliers" of the aristocratic Virginia settlers ), or current members of the international aristocracy. Towards the middle of the 20th century, however, the club opened its door to a few descendants of theGilded Age 's prominent families, such as members of the Rockefeller family.
E. Digby Baltzell explains in his 1971 bookPhiladelphia Gentlemen: The Making of a National Upper Class :
The circulation of elites in America and the assimilation of new men of power and influence into theupper class takes place primarily through the medium of urban clubdom. Aristocracy of birth is replaced by an aristocracy of ballot. Frederick Lewis Allen showed how this process operated in the case of the nineLords of Creation who were listed in the New York Social Register as of 1905: “The nine men who were listed [in the Social Register] were recorded as belonging to 9.4 clubs apiece,” wrote Allen. “Though only two of them,J. P. Morgan andCornelius Vanderbilt III , belonged to the Knickerbocker Club, the citadel ofPatrician families (indeed, both already belonged to old prominent families at the time),Stillman andHarriman joined these two in the membership of the almost equally fashionableUnion Club ;Baker joined these four in the membership of theMetropolitan Club of New York (magnificent, but easier of access to new wealth);John D. Rockefeller ,William Rockefeller Jr. , andRogers , along withMorgan andBaker were listed as members of theUnion League Club (the stronghold of Republican respectability); seven of the group belonged to theNew York Yacht Club . Morgan belonged to nineteen clubs in all; Vanderbilt, to fifteen; Harriman, to fourteen.” Allen then goes on to show how the descendants of these financial giants were assimilated into the upper class: “By way of footnote, it may be added that although in that year [1905] only two of our ten financiers belonged to the Knickerbocker Club, in 1933 the grandsons of six of them did. The following progress is characteristic: John D. Rockefeller, Union League Club; John D. Rockefeller Jr.,University Club ; John D. Rockefeller 3rd, Knickerbocker Club. Thus is the American aristocracy recruited.”[ 2]
Christopher Doob wrote in his bookSocial Inequality and Social Stratification in U.S. Society :
Personal wealth has never been the sole basis for attaining membership in exclusive clubs. The individual and family must meet the admissions committee's standards for values and behavior.Old money prevails overnew money as the Rockefeller family experience suggests. John D. Rockefeller, the family founder and the nation's first billionaire, joined the Union League Club, a fairly respectable but not top-level club; John D. Rockefeller Jr., belonged to the University Club, a step up from his father; and finally his son John D. Rockefeller, III, reached the pinnacle with his acceptance into the Knickerbocker Club (Baltzell 1989, 340).[ 1]
Selected notable members [ edit ] Charles Francis Adams III (1866–1954),Ambassador , great-grandson of the sixth U.S. presidentJohn Quincy Adams (1767–1848), and a great-great-grandson of the second U.S. president andFounding Father John Adams (1735–1826). Member of the prominentAdams family His Royal HighnessPrince Amyn Aga Khan ,Imam ofNizari Ismailism His Royal HighnessPrince Sadruddin Aga Khan (1933–2003),Imam ofNizari Ismailism . Statesman and activist who served asUnited Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from 1966 to 1977 Gianni Agnelli (1921–2003), principal shareholder ofFiat , and ItalianSenator for life . He is the great-great-grandson of business magnateGiuseppe Francesco Agnelli (1789–1865) of theAgnelli family . Through his motherPrincess Virginia Bourbon del Monte he is also a member of the Princely House ofBourbon del Monte Santa Maria Winthrop W. Aldrich (1885–1974),United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom and scion of the prominent political Aldrich family. Son of the influentialSenator Nelson W. Aldrich (1841–1915) who was referred to by the press and public alike as the "general manager of the Nation." Descendant ofJohn Winthrop (1587–1649)Baron Carlo Amato (1938–2021),Ambassador ofThe Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta [ 9] Chester Alan Arthur II (1864–1937), sportsman, art connoisseur, and son of U.S. presidentChester A. Arthur (1829–1886). Descendant ofGeneral Uriah Stone, who served in theContinental Army during theAmerican Revolution Count Alessandro Guiccioli de Asarta (1843–1922),Senator of the Kingdom of Italy andCongressman of the Kingdom of Italy Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor (1879–1952), British politician and member of theHouse of Lords . Great-great-great-grandson ofJohn Jacob Astor , the richest man in America at the time. Member of the prominentAstor family Robert Bacon (1860–1919),United States secretary of state thenU.S. Ambassador to France . Scion of theBoston Brahmin Bacon family whose members included philosopher and scientistViscount Francis Bacon (1561–1626), U.S. senator and Chief of JusticeEzekiel Bacon (1776–1870), and Massachusetts CongressmanJohn Bacon (1738–1820)Arthur Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour (1848–1930),Prime Minister of the United Kingdom , thenFirst Lord of the Admiralty . Often associated to theBalfour Declaration , public statement issued by the British government in 1917 announcing support for the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people" in PalestineHis Royal HighnessPrince Franz von Bayern, Duke of Bavaria , head of theHouse of Wittelsbach Count Guerin De Beaumont (1896–1955), Frenchdiplomat and active member of theBilderberg Group . Member of theHouse of de Beaumont His Royal HighnessCount Folke Bernadotte of Wisborg (1895–1948),diplomat and grandson ofKing of Sweden Oscar II . In World War II he negotiated the release of about 31,000 prisoners from German concentration camps. After the war, Bernadotte was unanimously chosen to be theUnited Nations Security Council mediator in the Arab–Israeli conflict of 1947–1948 Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle Jr. (1897–1961),General and U.S.Ambassador to seven countries. Scion of the prominentBiddle family Francis Beverly Biddle , attorney general and Nuremberg judge (1886–1968). Scion of the prominentBiddle family Prince Livio Borghese (1874–1939), ItalianDiplomat in the Ottoman Empire and in China. Scion of thePrincely Borghese House John Moors Cabot (1901–1981),U.S. ambassador to five nations during the Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy administrations. Descendant of John Cabot (born 1680), a highly successful merchant of the prominentBoston Brahmin Cabot family John Lambert Cadwalader (1836–1914),United States secretary of state . Descendant ofJohn Cadwalader (1742–1786) (general during theAmerican Revolutionary War , who served withGeorge Washington ) andThomas Cadwalader (1707–1779). Member of the prominentCadwalader family andVan Cortlandt family His Royal HighnessPrince Alfonso, Count of Caserta (1841–1934), pretender to thethrone of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies Adna Chaffee (1842–1914),General andChief of Staff of the United States Army , taking part in theAmerican Civil War andAmerican Indian Wars , playing a key role in theSpanish–American War , and fighting in theBoxer Rebellion in China. Descendant of Thomas Chaffee (1610–1683), businessman and landowner of the Massachusetts Colony, and scion of theBoston Brahmin Chaffee familyWilliam A. Chanler (1867–1934), explorer, soldier and New York politician. Descendant of Edward Sutton, 2nd Baron Dudley (1460–1531) , Member of Parliament of England,John Winthrop (1587–1649) , one of the founders of theMassachusetts Bay Colony , andPeter Stuyvesant , the last DutchDirector of New Netherland from 1647 to 1664, after which it was renamedNew York Count Ghislain Clauzel (1907–1992), FrenchAmbassador . Descendant ofCount Bertrand Clauzel (1772–1842),Marshal of France during theNapoleonic Wars Charles A. Coffin (1844–1926), co-founder and first president ofGeneral Electric corporation. Descendant ofTristram Coffin (1609–1681), a British aristocrat who had to flee theEnglish Civil War and who is best known for purchasingNantucket . Scion of the prominentCoffin family Calvin Coolidge (1872–1933), 30thpresident of the United States . During his presidency, he is known to have restored public confidence in the White House after the many scandals of his predecessor's administration. He was a direct descendant of John Coolidge (1604–1691), a member of the English landed gentry who emigrated to Massachusetts in 1630 and a member of theBoston Brahmin Coolidge familyPierre de Cossé Brissac, 12th Duke of Brissac (1900–1993), French aristocrat and author who wrote a series of historical memoirs. Head of theHouse of Cossé-Brissac Frank Crowninshield (1872–1947), journalist, developer ofVanity Fair Boston Brahmin Crowninshield family whose members include Massachusetts governor John Crownshield (1649–1699) and Secretary of the NavyBenjamin Williams Crowninshield (1772–1851).[ 10] Harvey Cushing (1869–1939), Americanneurosurgeon , pioneer of brain surgery who was the first exclusive neurosurgeon and the first person to describeCushing's disease . Scion on theCushing family whose notable members include AmericanFounding Father Thomas Cushing III (1725–1788),William Cushing (1732–1810) nominatedCourt's Chief Justice by PresidentGeorge Washington and English theologian Thomas Cushing (1512–1588). Direct descendant ofJohn Cotton (1585–1652), the great 16th century Puritan theologianRichard Henry Dana Jr. (1815–1882), lawyer and politician who gained renown as the author of the classic American memoirTwo Years Before the Mast . Both as a writer and as a lawyer, he was a champion of the downtrodden, from seamen to fugitive slaves and freedmen. Descendant ofFounding Father Francis Dana (1743–1811), and of FrenchHuguenot Richard Dana (1620–1690) who arrived in Massachusetts during the later end of the Puritan migration to New England.Robert Williams Daniel, Jr. (1936–2012), member of theU.S. House of Representatives . Son of financierRobert Williams Daniel , descendant ofWilliam Randolph (prominent figure in the history and government of the Englishcolony of Virginia ) andEdmund Randolph (the seventhGovernor of Virginia , the firstattorney general of the United States and later served assecretary of state ).[ 11] Michel David-Weill , French investment banker and former chairman ofLazard Frères , art collector. Great-great-grandson ofAlexandre Weill , co-founder ofLazard Frères Henry A. Dudley (1913–1995), U.S.Ambassador . Member of the ancient prominentDudley family , whose members includeLord Henry Dudley (1517–1568),Thomas Dudley (1576–1653) Founder and Governor of theMassachusetts Bay Colony and a founder ofHarvard University , andJoseph Dudley (1647–1720) Colonial Administrator of theDominion of New England Angier Biddle Duke (1915–1995), youngestAmerican Ambassador in history andChief of Protocol of the United States . Heir of theDuke Family business empire in tobacco and electric power, and major benefactor ofDuke University , named after his family (one of theFirst Families of Virginia ). Also a scion of the prominentBiddle family , and a great-great-grandson of financierAnthony Joseph Drexel who founded withJ. P. Morgan the bankDrexel, Morgan & Co. (laterJ.P. Morgan & Co. )David Eccles, 1st Viscount Eccles (1904–1999), member of theHouse of Lords and prominent British politician who served asMinister of Education ,Minister of Works , and asPresident of the Board of Trade T. S. Eliot (1888–1965),Nobel Prize-winning poet, playwright, and literary critic. Member of the aristocraticBoston Brahmin Eliot family , whose notable members includeCharles William Eliot (1834–1926) the longest servingPresident of Harvard University , andCharles Eliot Norton (1827–1908) progressive social considered the most cultivated man in the United States by his contemporariesWilliam Crowninshield Endicott (1826–1900),United States Secretary of War . Member of the prominentEndicott family , and direct descendant ofJohn Endecott (1589–1665), one of the Fathers ofNew England and the longest-serving governor of theMassachusetts Bay Colony Marquis Ruggero Farace di Villaforesta (1909–1970), ItalianAmbassador , and member of the highly aristocratic family Farace di Villaforesta, whose origins have been documented back to the aristocratic families of theByzantine Empire , and which is directly related to figures such asQueen Natialia of Serbia orPrincess Aspasia of Greece and Denmark . He was married toPrincess Catherine Ivanovna of Russia , great-great-granddaughter ofTsar Nicholas I of Russia , a niece of KingAlexander I of Yugoslavia , and second cousin ofPrince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Baron Carlo de Ferrariis Salzano (1905–1985), ItalianAmbassador . Scion the PrincelyHouse of Gaetani dell'Aquila d'Aragona from his mother side and of the PrincelyHouse of Morra from his paternal grandmotherFrederick Theodore Frelinghuysen (1817–1885),Secretary of State . Grandson ofContinental Army General Frederick Frelinghuysen (general) (1753–1804) and great-great-grandson ofDutch Reformed Church ministerTheodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen (1691–1747). Member of theFrelinghuysen political dynastyFrancis Warrington Gillet (1895–1969) was an Americanflying ace who served in both the American and British armed forces as a pilot during World War I. Member of the prominentGillett family whose members include colonist Jonathan Gillett (1609–1677) andSpeaker of the United States House of Representatives Frederick H. Gillett (1851–1935)Ogden Goelet (1851–1897), yachtsman and heir to one of America's largest business empires at the time. Member of the prominentGoelet family , descendants of an aristocratic family ofHuguenots in France who escaped from religious persecutions and arrived in New York in 1676. His daughter,Mary Goelet , marriedHenry Innes-Ker, 8th Duke of Roxburghe Baron Amaury de La Grange (1888–1953), aviator and politicianBaron Frederick G. d'Hauteville (1838–1918), politician, member of theHouse of Hauteville Baron Paul G. d'Hauteville (1875–1947), Captain of the Red Cross, member of theHouse of Hauteville Count Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck , German film director, best known for writing and directing the 2006Oscar-winning dramatic thrillerThe Lives of Others His Imperial HighnessPrince Friedrich of Hohenzollern (1924–2010), head of theImperial House of Hohenzollern for over 45 years, and scion on his mother side of theRoyal House of Wettin and through his paternal grandmother of theRoyal House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies Baron Rodolphe Hottinger , banker and member of the House of HottingerPeter Augustus Jay (1877–1933),Ambassador . Great-great-great-grandson ofJohn Jay (1745–1829),Founding Father and firstUnited States Chief Justice . Member of theJay family of Huguenots who had come to New York to escape religious persecution in FranceWoodbury Kane (1859–1905), a notedyachtsman and bon vivant, and member ofTheodore Roosevelt 'sRough Riders . Great-great-grandson ofJohn Jacob Astor John Knowles (1926–2001), American novelist best known forA Separate Peace . Scion of the prominentKnowles family and direct descendant ofRoyal Navy Admiral Sir Charles Knowles (1754–1831)Amos A. Lawrence (1814–1886), key figure in the United Statesabolitionist movement in the years leading up to theAmerican Civil War . Son of philanthropistAmos Lawrence (1786–1852) and scion of theLawrence family who descend from John Lawrence (1609–1667) of EnglandRobert J. Livingston (1811–1891), businessman, member of the prominentLivingston family , which descends from the 4thLord Livingston (died 1518),[ 12] Robert Livingston the Elder (1654–1728) and signers of theUnited States Declaration of Independence (Philip Livingston ) and theUnited States Constitution (William Livingston ). Several members wereLords ofLivingston Manor .His Serene HighnessPrince Edouard de Lobkowicz (1926–2010), Austrian-AmericanAmbassador and investment banker. Member of the PrincelyHouse of Lobkowicz and member of the RoyalHouse of Bourbon-Parma Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. (1902–1985),United States Ambassador and prominent American politician. Scion of the patricianLodge family , he is the grandson ofSenate Majority Leader SenatorHenry Cabot Lodge (1850–1924), the great-grandson ofSecretary of State Frederick Theodore Frelinghuysen (1817–1885), and great-great-great-grandson of SenatorGeorge Cabot (1751–1823)Joseph Florimond, Duke of Loubat (1831–1927), yachtsman, bibliophile, antiquarian, and philanthropistA. Lawrence Lowell (1856–1943),President of Harvard University . Scion of the PatricianLowell family , whose notable members include Percival Lowell (1571–1665), ministerJohn Lowell (1704–1767), delegate to theCongress of the Confederation John Lowell (1743–1802),Ambassador andpoet James Russell Lowell (1819–1891), and mathematician and astronomerPercival Lowell (1855–1916) who led the discovery ofPluto Anthony Dryden Marshall (1924–2014), theatrical producer,C.I.A. intelligence officer formerambassador . Great-great-grandson ofJohn Fairfield Dryden (1839–1911), founder ofPrudential Insurance Company and a United States senator from 1902 to 1907.[ 13] Frederick Townsend Martin (1849–1914), writer and anti-poverty advocate, referred to as the "millionaire with a mission."Paul Mellon (1907–1999), philanthropist and an owner/breeder ofthoroughbred racehorses .[ 14] Mellon family Baron Jean de Ménil (1904–1973), Franco-American businessman, philanthropy, and art patronGeorge Minot (1885–1950), winner of theNobel Prize in Medicine . Great-great-grandson of historian George Richards Minot (1758–1802), and cousin ofCharles Sedgwick Minot (1852–1914) anatomist and a founding member of theAmerican Society for Psychical Research . Scion of theBoston Brahmin Minot familyCount Gebhardt von Moltke (1938–2019),Ambassador , and direct descendant ofPrussian field marshal Count Helmuth von Moltke , and great-great-grandnephew ofChief of the Great German General Staff Count Helmuth von Moltke Antoine-Amédée-Marie-Vincent Manca Amat de Vallombrosa, Marquis de Morès et de Montemaggiore (1858–1896), famousduelist , railroad pioneer in Vietnam, and a politician in his native country FranceJ. P. Morgan (1837–1913). banker and financier, descendant ofWilliam Morgan (1582–1649) andMiles Morgan (1616–1699). Member of the prominentMorgan family . Resigned when a friend he had sponsored for membership wasblackballed and founded theMetropolitan Club of New York Marquis Guy-Philippe de Montebello , director of theMetropolitan Museum of Art Edward N. Ney (1925–2014),Ambassador . Descendant ofMichel Ney ,Marshal of the Empire during theNapoleonic Wars Kichisaburo Nomura (1877–1964), Japaneseambassador Count Jehan de Noüe (1907–1999), Chief of Protocol of theUnited Nations . Member of the ancient aristocraticde Noüe family John Bertram Oakes (1913–2001), iconoclastic and influential U.S. journalist known for his early commitment to the environment, civil rights, and opposition to the Vietnam War. Great-great-great-grandson ofGeneral Sir Hildebrand Oakes (1754–1822)Baron Max von Oppenheim (1860–1946),archaeologist , famous for discovering the site ofTell Halaf in 1899. Member of the prominentOppenheim family Charles Jackson Paine (1833–1916) railroad executive, yachtsman, and ageneral in theUnion Army during theAmerican Civil War . Great-great-grandson ofRobert Treat Paine (1731–1814)Founding Father of the United States who signed theContinental Association and theDeclaration of Independence The Lord Palumbo , property developer and art collector, member of theHouse of Lords Marquis Lelio Pellegrini Quarantotti (1909–1990), ItalianGrand Prix motor racing driverJohnston Livingston de Peyster (1846–1903), colonel during the civil war, and known for running for mayor of Tivoli-on-Hudson against his father, and winning. Member of the prominentDe Peyster family andLivingston family . Great-great-great-grandson ofAbraham de Peyster (1657–1728), an earlyMayor of New York City , whose father wasJohannes de Peyster (c. 1600 –1685). Descendant of William Livingston, 4th Lord Livingston (died 1518)Wendell Phillips (1811–1884) was an Americanabolitionist , advocate for Native Americans, orator, and attorney. According to George Lewis Ruffin, a Black attorney, Phillips was seen by many Blacks as "the one white American wholly color-blind and free from race prejudice." Son ofJohn Phillips (1770–1823), first mayor of Boston, and descendant of English-born Puritan ministerGeorge Phillips (1593–1644). Scion of theBoston Brahmin Phillips family , which counts among its notable membersSamuel Phillips, Jr. (1752–1802), andJohn Phillips (1719–1795), founders of thePhillips Academy andPhillips Exeter Academy Henry Hepburne-Scott, 10th Lord Polwarth (1916–2005), businessman, Minister of State of ScotlandGeorge P. Putnam (1887–1950), American publisher, author and explorer. Husband ofAmelia Earhart the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. Grandson ofGeorge Palmer Putnam (1814–1872), founder of the prominent publishing firm that becameG. P. Putnam's Sons . Descendant of armygeneral Israel Putnam (1718–1790) and English Puritan John Putnam (1580–1666)Edmund Quincy (1808–1877),abolitionist and editor ofNational Anti-Slavery Standard . Grandson ofPresident of Harvard University Josiah Quincy III (1772–1864) and scion of the prominentQuincy family His Serene HighnessPrince Dominik Radziwiłł (1911–1976), head of theHouse of Radziwiłł His Serene HighnessPrince Anthony Radziwill (1959–1999), member of theHouse of Radziwiłł and nephew ofFirst Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (wife of PresidentJohn F. Kennedy ). Laurance Rockefeller (1910–2004), financier, philanthropist and major conservationist. Grandson ofJohn D. Rockefeller , considered to be the richest person in modern history. Member of theRockefeller family David Rockefeller (1915–2017), banker, chairman and chief executive ofChase Manhattan Corporation . Grandson ofJohn D. Rockefeller , considered to be one of the richest people in modern history. Member of theRockefeller family His Imperial HighnessPrince Alexander Romanov (1929–2002), member of theImperial House of Romanov Theodore Roosevelt Sr. (1831–1878), father of President of the United States, member of the patricianRoosevelt family He was Secretary of the Union League Club and a founding member of the Knickerbocker Club in 1871.Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945), President of the United States, member of the patricianRoosevelt family —joined in 1903 upon his graduation fromHarvard University . Resigned from the club in 1936.Viscount Paul de Rosière (1908–1995), Cartier's Chief Executive.Count Teofilo Guiscardo Rossi di Montelera (1902–1991), Italianbobsledder who competed in the early 1930s, and a world championpower boat racer , winning world championship in 1934, 1937, 1938, and was set to defend the Gold Cup in 1939 when war broke out. He was the heir of the aristocratic family Rossi di MonteleraBaron Guy de Rothschild (1909–2007), owner of theRothschild banking family of France and head of the French branch of theHouse of Rothschild Leverett Saltonstall (1892–1979),Senate Majority Leader and Minority Leader andChair of the Senate Republican Conference . Direct descendant ofSir Richard Saltonstall (1586–1661), and member of the prominentSaltonstall family John Singer Sargent (1856–1925), artist, considered the leadingimpressionist portrait painter of his generation. Direct descendant ofEpes Sargent (1690–1762), and scion of the patricianSargent family , whose notable members includeWinthrop Sargent (1753–1820),Henry Sargent (1770–1845), orCharles Sprague Sargent (1841–1927)His Imperial HighnessZera Yacob Amha Selassie , grandson of EmperorHaile Selassie and son ofAmha Selassie of theEthiopian Empire . Current head of theImperial House of Ethiopia Baron Ottavio Serena di Lapigio (1837–1914),Senator of the Kingdom of Italy , historian, and prominent figure in theUnification of Italy William Watts Sherman (1842–1912), businessman, member of the patrician Sherman family[ 15] Viscomte Henri de Sibour (1872–1938), architectCount Alexander von Stauffenberg (1905–1964), German aristocrat and historian. His twin brotherBerthold Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg and younger brotherClaus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg were among the leaders of the20 July plot against Hitler in 1944. Member of theSchenk von Stauffenberg family which included prominent figures such asPrussian Field marshal Count August Neidhardt von Gneisenau Augustus Van Horne Stuyvesant Jr. (1870–1953) New York landowner and last direct descendent ofPeter Stuyvesant (1592–1672), the Dutchgovernor ofNew Netherland before it became New York. Scion of the prominentStuyvesant family Baron David Swaythling (1928–1998), Member of theHouse of Lords and chairman of many notable British companies, such asRothschild & Co ,Samuel Montagu & Co. orMidland Bank Nathaniel Thayer III (1851–1911), American banker and railroad executive. Scion of theBoston Brahmin Thayer family , and through his mother a descendant of the Dutch AristocraticVan Rensselaer andSchuyler familiesMarquis Filippo Theodoli ,Duke of Nemi (1930–1990), owner of the first high-performance luxury yachts company Magnum Marine Corporation Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza (1921–2002), noted industrialist and art collectorCount Antoine Treuille de Beaulieu (1804–1885), Army General, known for developing the concept ofrifled guns in the French Army.[ 16] Baron Léon van der Elst (1856–1933), BelgianAmbassador and one ofKing Albert I of Belgium 's closest advisersBaron Georg von Ullmann (1922–1972), owner of the GermanThoroughbred studGestüt Schlenderhan that has had a major impact on the breeding history of Thoroughbreds. Scion of the prominentOppenheim family Count Mario di Valmarana (1929–2010), architect, owner of thePalladian Villa"La Rotonda" Pierre Van Cortlandt III (1815–1884), New York landowner. Scion of the prominentVan Cortlandt political dynasty whose members includePierre Van Cortlandt (1721–1814), the firstlieutenant governor of New York , andPhilip Van Cortlandt (1749–1831), a founder of thehereditary Society of the Cincinnati Cornelius Vanderbilt III (1873–1942), general. Member of the prominentVanderbilt family . Great-great-grandson of the railroad and shipping tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt ("The Commodore"), one of the richest Americans in history. Descendant of the famous Dutch corsairJan Janszoon (1570–1641)Harold Stirling Vanderbilt (1884–1970), railroad executive, yachtsman, bridge player, and a member of the prominentVanderbilt family . Great-great-grandson of the railroad and shipping tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt ("The Commodore"), one of the richest American in history. Descendant of the famous Dutch corsairJan Janszoon (1570–1641)Alexander Van Rensselaer (1850–1933), philanthropist, and professional tennis player and champion. Member of the prominentVan Rensselaer of Dutch Aristocratic origins, whose members includeKiliaen van Rensselaer (1586–1643) one of the founders and directors of theDutch West India Company and an instrumental figure in the establishment ofNew Netherland ; and Stephen Van Rensselaer III (1764–1839), Governor of New York andGrand Master of theMasonic Grand Lodge of New York and one of the richest people in history (net worth of US$3.1 billion at the time of his death—equivalent to $112.5 billion in 2021)Count Leonardo Vitetti (1894–1973),Permanent Representative of Italy to the United Nations Baron Egon von Vietinghoff-Scheel (1903–1994), German-Swiss painter, author, philosopher and creator of the Egon von Vietinghoff Foundation. He reconstructed the lost painting techniques of theOld Masters , and created some 2.700 paintingsCraig Wadsworth (1872–1960), diplomat, steeplechase rider, and member ofTheodore Roosevelt 'sRough Riders . Grandson of Union generalJames S. Wadsworth . Scion of the prominentWadsworth family of Connecticut, and descendant of one of theFounders of Hartford, Connecticut ,William Wadsworth (1594–1675)James Montaudevert Waterbury Sr. (1851–1931), businessman, industrialist. Member of the prominentLivingston family , which includes the 4thLord Livingston ,[ 12] United States Declaration of Independence (Philip Livingston ) and theUnited States Constitution (William Livingston )Baron Béla Ferenc Xavér Wenckheim (1811–1879),Prime Minister of Hungary Henry White (1850–1927),U.S. ambassador ,[ 17] Treaty of Versailles .[ 18] Robert Winthrop (1833–1892), banker, direct descendant of colonial governorsJohn Winthrop (1587–1649),John Winthrop Jr. (1606–1676), andFitz-John Winthrop (1637–1707).[ 19] James T. Woodward (1837–1910), banker, avid hunter and horseman. Member of the prominent Woodward familyJerauld Wright (1898–1995), Commander-in-Chief of theU.S. Atlantic Command (CINCLANT) and the Commander-in-Chief of theU.S. Atlantic Fleet (CINCLANTFLT), and became the secondSupreme Allied Commander Atlantic (SACLANT) for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ), from April 1, 1954, to March 1, 1960, serving longer in these three positions than anyone else in history. Son of GeneralWilliam M. Wright . Descendant of SenatorWilliam Wright (1794–1866) andGeorge Mason IV (1725–1792), aFounding Father of the United States The Knickerbocker Club has mutual arrangements with the following clubs:
^a b Doob, Christopher (27 August 2015).Social Inequality and Social Stratification in U.S. Society ISBN 9781317344216 ^a b E. Digby Baltzell (27 August 2015).Philadelphia Gentlemen: The Making of a National Upper Class ISBN 9781412830751 ^ Macdonald-Buchanan, Rose (12 October 2015)."The best gentlemen's clubs in the world" .Gentleman's Journal . ^ "Knickerbocker" . Dictionary.com. Random House, retrieved 2008-1-3.^ Frederic Cople Jaher, "Nineteenth-Century Elites in Boston and New York",Journal of Social History Vol. 6, No. 1 (Autumn 1972), pp. 32–77. ^a b c Gray, Christopher."Inside the Union Club, Jaws Drop" ,New York Times (Feb. 11, 2007). ^a b Pollak, Michael."Was Anyone Killed at the Knickerbocker Club?" New York Times (Feb. 21, 2014). ^ Miller, Tom (2011-04-11)."Daytonian in Manhattan: The Lost 1898 Del Drago Mansion – No. 807 Fifth Avenue" .Daytonian in Manhattan . Retrieved2017-07-26 . ^ "Carlo Amato Obituary" .^ "Art: Mr. Crowinshield Unloads" .Time Magazine the original on December 14, 2008. RetrievedOctober 29, 2010 .^ "Robert Daniel Jr. And Sally Chase Wed in Richmond; An Alumnus of Virginia Marries Graduate of Smith, '57 Debutante" .The New York Times . 3 May 1964.^a b Henry Reed Stiles, ed. (1886).The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record 85 . ^ "John F. Dryden Dies Worth $50,000,000. Ex-Senator from New Jersey Succumbs to Pneumonia, Following an Operation" .The New York Times . Retrieved2010-10-20 .Ex-United States Senator John F. Dryden, President of the Prudential Insurance Company of America, also known as the "Father of Industrial Insurance", died at 6 o'clock last night at his home, 1020 Broad Street, Newark, N.J. The ex-Senator was operated on a week ago to-day for the removal of gall stones. ^ "Obituary: Paul Mellon" .The Independent . 3 February 1999. Retrieved18 May 2019 .^ "The Sherman Family' .The New York Times . February 19, 1865. p. 6.^ A Dictionary of Military History and the Art of War by André Corvisier, p.44[1] ^ "Henry White" .history.state.gov . United States Department of State History – Office of the Historian. Retrieved21 July 2017 .^ "HENRY WHITE WEDS MRS. WM.D. SLOANE; Ex-Ambassador to France Is 70 and Daughter of Late Wm. H. Vanderbilt Is 68. RELATIVES ONLY AT NUPTIAL Ceremony in St. Bartholomew's Chapel Follows Issuing of License --Couple at Bride's City Home" .The New York Times . Retrieved21 July 2017 .^ Henry Anstice.History of Saint George's Church in the City of New York, 1752-1811-1911. N.Y.: Harper, 1911, p. 450. ^ "Enquête sur les cercles et les lieux de pouvoir" [Investigation of circles and places of power].Le Figaro (in French). 29 April 2010.^ "Cercle Royal du Parc Reciprocities" .40°45′57.23″N 73°58′17.28″W / 40.7658972°N 73.9714667°W /40.7658972; -73.9714667
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