Socialite Madeleine Astor was 18 years old and pregnant when she boarded the RMS Titanic. After she survived the doomed voyage, she became the most famous widow in America.
Library of CongressDescribed in the press as tall, graceful, and popular, Madeleine Force made headlines for her scandalous marriage to New York millionaire John Jacob Astor IV.
“Eighteen year old Madeleine Force has a difficult task ahead,” wrote the Washington Times in 1911. The long-rumored — and contentious —engagement between the teen debutante and one of America’s richest men had just been announced. But no one could predict the difficulty the couple would face just months later on the Titanic.
Madeleine Astor boarded the RMS Titanic as a pregnant newlywed. And when the ship went down in 1912, she became the most famous widow in America.
Madeleine Force Marries John Jacob Astor IV
On Aug. 2, 1911, the New York Times announced an engagement. “Col. Astor to Wed Madeleine Force,” the headline read.
The pairing proved controversial, as Madeleine was only 18 years old at the time. John Jacob Astor IV, meanwhile, was 47 and had a son one year older than Madeleine. He had also recently divorced his first wife, which made it difficult for the couple to find a minister to perform the ceremony.
Library of CongressBefore the public announcement of their engagement, Madeleine Force and John Astor were frequently spotted together.
John Astor was a major catch. He had studied at Harvard, and went on to become a fur mogul and real estate developer, responsible for projects like the Waldorf Astoria, the Knickerbocker, and the St. Regis hotels. By the time he met Madeleine Force, he was one of the richest men in America, with a reported fortune of around $100 million.
In comparison, Madeleine was relatively unknown. Born in June 1893 in Brooklyn, Madeleine was the second daughter of William Force, who owned a shipping company.
“The future Mrs. Astor is a rather tall, graceful girl with brown hair and strong, clean-cut features,” the Times reported. “She is very popular in the younger set and took part last season in many of the society amateur theatricals.”
After attending an exclusive girls’ school in New York and touring Europe, Force met Astor at Bar Harbor, where both were summering in 1910.
Public DomainNewspapers reporting on the Titanic often put Madeleine Astor’s image on the front page, as she was one of the most famous people on the ship.
Their engagement caused quite the scandal. Newspapers like the Cincinnati Enquirer called the romance one of “wicked lust.” New York society spurned the new Mrs. Astor, and it was rumored that the couple had to pay a pastor $2,000 to officiate their wedding.
The Astors married in September 1911. Amid the swirl of rumors and vitriol, the newlyweds fled overseas, spending several months in Egypt and France.
Then, in April 1912, they fatefully decided to make the journey back to New York aboard the RMS Titanic.
The Honeymooners On The Titanic
When the Astors boarded the Titanic in Cherbourg, France on April 10, Madeleine was five months pregnant. Their entourage included a manservant, a maid, a private nurse, and Madeleine’s Airedale Terrier, Kitty.
Wikimedia CommonsThe Astors joined the Titanic voyage at Cherbourg after an extended honeymoon in Egypt and France.
The couple were the richest passengers on the ship, and from their luxurious cabin on the C-deck, the Astors passed the first few days of the voyage uneventfully. But on April 14, 1912, the Titanic sailed into icy waters. As the Astors relaxed in their suite, the ship made contact with an iceberg.
John Astor left the suite to ask Captain Edward Smith what had happened. He soon returned, telling Madeleine that while the ship had struck ice, there was no cause for alarm. He was confident that the damage was minimal.
Still, the Astors eventually left their suite to gather with other first-class passengers on the deck. They wandered the gymnasium, uncertain how the night would end.
Before long, the call came across the ship for women and children to evacuate in lifeboats.
Surviving The Titanic
As the night dragged on, the Titanic began to list. First-class passengers like Madeleine Astor quickly headed toward the lifeboats.
“I rang for ice, but this is ridiculous,” Madeleine is rumored to have said as she stood on the deck, according to a 1987 Jerusalem Post Magazine issue.
Archibald Gracie, a first-class passenger who later testified before the U.S. Senate about what he witnessed on the Titanic, described the moment when Madeleine Astor boarded her lifeboat.
“I heard Mr. Astor ask the second officer whether he would not be allowed to go aboard this boat to protect his wife,” Gracie testified. “He said, ‘No, sir; no man is allowed on this boat or any of the boats until the ladies are off.'”
Gracie suspected John Astor might have been allowed on the boat if the second officer knew of Madeleine’s “condition.” The officer also likely never realized that he’d been speaking to the richest man on the Titanic. But John Astor did not press the point.
Library of CongressAs a first-class passenger, Madeleine Astor was near the front of the line for a lifeboat.
Instead, he asked for his wife’s lifeboat number so he could find her later.
“The sea is calm, and you will be all right,” John told Madeleine as her lifeboat dropped into the icy water, according to Mental Floss. “You are in good hands and I will meet you in the morning.” But she never saw him alive again.
To add to the tragedy, Madeleine later said there had been room for at least 15 more people on her lifeboat.
Madeleine Astor After The Titanic
“I hope he is alive somewhere,” Madeleine Astor told her father after the Carpathia transported her back to New York, according to a 1912 San Francisco Call article. But on April 22, John’s body was found floating in the Atlantic.
John Jacob Astor IV died with over $2,500 in cash on his body, along with a gold watch, a diamond ring, and diamond cufflinks.
Wikimedia CommonsThe richest man on the Titanic, John Jacob Astor IV went down with the ship.
Left a widow before her 19th birthday, Madeleine inherited a fortune from her husband in the form of a five-million-dollar trust. The terms of Astor’s will also allowed his widow to live in their Fifth Avenue home as long as she remained unmarried.
On Aug. 14, 1912, Madeleine Astor gave birth to a son, named John Jacob Astor VI. He became known as the “Titanic baby.”
However, Madeleine did not remain a wealthy widow for long. She gave up her claim to the Astor fortune to marry her childhood friend, William Karl Dick, in 1916. In 1933, she divorced her second husband and married a prize fighter named Enzo Fiermonte. That marriage ended in divorce, too.
Library of CongressAs a widow, Madeleine Astor only had a claim to the Astor fortune if she remained unmarried. But within years, she had found another suitor.
Madeleine Astor died in 1940 at the age of 47. Even then, the former socialite couldn’t escape the rumor mill; while newspapers reported that she had died of heart disease, it was widely rumored that she may have died of a prescription drug overdose.
Madeleine Astor was one of the Titanic’s most famous passengers, but she was just one of over 2,200 people on the ship. Next, meet 12 other Titanic survivors. Then, dive into these bizarre conspiracy theories about the Titanic.
