Astor

JOHN JACOB, (as'tor,) an American merchant, B. atWaldorf, Germany, 1763, and emigrated to America in 1784. By the aid of busine talents of the highest order, backed by unerring judgment and indomitable energy, he ama ed a fortune which, at the period of his death, was estimated at $20,000,000. Among his many acts of beneficence was the founding of the Astor Library in New York city, to which he bequeathed by will a sum of $400,000. D. 1848. [s. 55]