​ASTOR,William Waldorf (1848—). Thegreat-grandson of John Jacob Astor. He wasborn in New York City, and studied law in orderto qualify himself for assuming the managementof the Astor estate. He was elected to the NewYork State Assembly in 1877, and to the Senatein 1879. In 1881 he was defeated by Roswell P.Flower as a candidate for Congress. He wasappointed by President Arthur minister to Italyin 1882, a post which he held till March 1, 1885.As a result of studies made at Rome, he publishedtwo romances:Valentino (1885) andSforza(1889). On the death of his father he becamethe head of the family and the inheritor of theestate, estimated at $200,000,000, largelyinvested in real estate. He soon built twomagnificent hotels, the New Netherland and theWaldorf. In 1890 he went to London to live, andin 1899 became a British subject. He boughtthePall Mall Gazette in 1893, and founded thePall Mall Magazine.