Madeleine Astor
- Bobby Kelley
- Oct 22
- 4 min read
Madeleine Talmage Force was born on June 19, 1893, in Brooklyn, New York, to William Hurlbut Force and Katherine Arvilla Talmage Force. Her father was a successful businessman and her mother a member of a long-established New York family. The Forces were among the city’s prominent social and financial elite, and Madeleine was educated in fine schools, including Miss Ely’s School and Miss Spence’s School for Girls in Manhattan. She was raised in comfort, enjoying summers in Bar Harbor and Newport, and quickly became known for her beauty, poise, and lively personality within New York society.
By her late teens, Madeleine was a fixture in the social pages, attending teas, charity balls, and fashionable gatherings. In the summer of 1910, she was introduced to Colonel John Jacob Astor IV, a distinguished inventor, real estate developer, and one of the wealthiest men in the world. Astor was recently divorced from his first wife, Ava Lowle Willing, with whom he had two children, Vincent and Alice. His growing affection for the much younger Madeleine quickly became the focus of widespread gossip. Despite criticism from both the press and conservative social circles, the couple announced their engagement in August 1911.
Their wedding took place quietly on September 9, 1911, at Beechwood, the Astor family estate in Newport, Rhode Island. Madeleine was eighteen, and the Colonel was forty-seven. The ceremony, officiated by Reverend Joseph Lambert, was attended by a small circle of family and close friends. Following their marriage, the couple embarked on an extended honeymoon abroad to escape the public attention that surrounded their union. They toured Europe, Egypt, and the Mediterranean, where they visited Cairo and Luxor before deciding to return home to New York in the spring of 1912.
They booked passage on the maiden voyage of the RMS Titanic, traveling under the name “Mr. and Mrs. J. J. Astor.” Accompanying them were Colonel Astor’s valet, Madeleine’s maid, a nurse named Caroline Endres, and their Airedale terrier, Kitty. Madeleine was several months pregnant at the time. On the night of April 14, 1912, when the Titanic struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic, Colonel Astor remained calm, helping his wife dress warmly and escorting her to the deck. He assisted other passengers before personally ensuring that Madeleine was safely placed in Lifeboat 4. He reportedly asked if he might accompany her, citing her condition, but was told that only women and children could board. Madeleine survived the sinking, while her husband was among the more than 1,500 who perished when the ship went down in the early hours of April 15.
After her rescue by the Carpathia, Madeleine returned to New York, where she was met by her mother and family. Despite her youth and the tragedy she had endured, she handled the aftermath with quiet dignity. In June 1912 she hosted a private luncheon aboard the Carpathia to thank Captain Arthur Rostron and his crew for their heroism. Among her guests were several other Titanic widows, including Mrs. John B. Thayer and Mrs. John Bradley Cumings.
On August 14, 1912, Madeleine gave birth to her son, John Jacob “Jakey” Astor VI, at her Fifth Avenue mansion. His birth attracted widespread press attention as he was the posthumous heir of one of America’s greatest fortunes. Under the terms of her marriage settlement, Madeleine was granted the use of an Astor mansion, the Beechwood estate in Newport, and a substantial income. However, these privileges would end if she chose to remarry.
In 1916 she married William Karl Dick, a childhood friend and heir to a sugar-refining fortune. Their wedding, held at her mother’s New York residence, was a smaller, more private affair. The couple had two sons, William Force Dick and John Henry Dick. They divided their time between New York, Newport, and Charleston, where they enjoyed the company of other prominent families. Over time, however, the marriage grew strained, and in 1933 Madeleine obtained a divorce in Reno, Nevada.
Later that same year she married Enzo Fiermonte, a twenty-six-year-old Italian prizefighter and actor. Their marriage captured headlines due to their age difference and his career, which stood in sharp contrast to her social background. The union was turbulent and short-lived, ending in divorce in 1938 on the grounds of extreme cruelty. Afterward, Madeleine resumed the surname Dick and began to withdraw from public life.
In her final years, she lived quietly in Palm Beach, Florida, maintaining close relationships with her sons and family. Though she never regained the fortune or notoriety of her early years, she remained a figure of fascination to the public.
Madeleine Talmage Force Dick died in Palm Beach on March 27, 1940, at the age of forty-six. She was interred in the Force–Dick–Astor Mausoleum at Trinity Cemetery in New York City. She is entombed with her mother, her son John Jacob Astor VI, his wife, and their dog.
Mausoleum photos are courtesy of Neil Funkhouser
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