Emily Chan
In 1911, the socialite Madeleine Force got engaged to one of America’s richest men, John Jacob Astor IV. When news of their engagement hit the stands, it caused quite a scandal. At the time, Madeleine was only 18-years-old, and John Astor was 47 with a son just one year older than his future wife.
By being a part of such a controversial couple, Madeleine had a long and difficult road ahead of her. However, nobody could anticipate the tragedy and challenges she would face in the following year on the Titanic. When the ship sunk in 1912, she became the most famous widow in America.
John Astor and Madeleine met in 1910 at Bar Harbor, where they were both summering. By the time they met, John was one of the wealthiest men in America.
He had a fortune of around $100 million, which he earned from delving into the fur and real estate industries. He was behind several major development projects, such as the Waldorf Astoria.
On the other hand, Madeleine was relatively unknown. She was born in June 1893 in Brooklyn as the second daughter of William Force, who was the owner of a shipping company.
The New York Times described her as a “rather tall, graceful girl with brown hair and strong, clean-cut features.” She ran into John after attending an exclusive girls’ school in New York and traveling across Europe.
Their engagement received a lot of criticism from the press. According to rumors, the couple had to pay a pastor $2,000 to officiate their wedding. They married in September 1911. Afterward, they spent several months in Egypt and France for their honeymoon. They decided to return to New York via the RMS Titanic.
On April 10, the Astors boarded the Titanic in Cherbourg, France. Madeleine was five months pregnant. They were accompanied by a servant, maid, private nurse, and Madeleine’s dog named Kitty. The Astors were the richest people on the ship — they shared a cabin on the C-deck. The first few days of the trip passed without incident.
But on April 14, 1912, the vessel struck an iceberg. John left their cabin to ask the captain what had happened. Soon, he returned and reassured Madeleine that everything was okay, believing that only slight damage had been done. Before long, women and children were called to evacuate the ship in lifeboats.
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