American businessman (1928?2017)
William Amherst Vanderbilt Cecil
(August 17, 1928 ? October 31, 2017) was an
English
-
American
businessman. He was the owner of the
Biltmore Estate
through his company,
The Biltmore Company
.
Biography
[
edit
]
William A. V. Cecil was the younger son of
Cornelia Stuyvesant Vanderbilt
(1900?1976) and
English
-born aristocrat
John Francis Amherst Cecil
(1890-1954). He was the grandson of
George Washington Vanderbilt II
and
Lord William Cecil
, the great-grandson of
William Henry Vanderbilt
and
William Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Exeter
. His maternal great-great grandfather was railroad and steamship baron, Commodore
Cornelius Vanderbilt
.
His mother left the family back at the Biltmore Estate in
1932
, later divorcing her husband in
1934
. Cecil and his older brother were educated in
England
and
Switzerland
while his father managed the estate. He served in the
British Navy
near the end of
World War II
.
[1]
He left England in
1949
to attend
Harvard University
, graduating in
1952
ahead of his class.
[2]
Later, he worked in finance in
New York City
, where he met his future wife, Mary Lee Ryan.
Upon the death of his mother, he inherited the Biltmore Estate once his elder brother,
George Henry Vanderbilt Cecil
, chose to take charge of the family dairy (known as
Biltmore Farms
) which was much more profitable at the time. He successfully transformed Biltmore into a popular
North Carolina
tourist attraction and built a profitable winery on the grounds.
[3]
[4]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Cecil married Mary Lee Ryan, known as "Mimi", in 1957 in
New York City
. She was a maternal
first cousin
of
First Lady of the United States
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
, both being granddaughters of
James T. Lee
.
[5]
Cecil and his wife had two children:
- William A.V. Cecil, married Virginia Cecil and had issue.
[6]
He serves as President and
CEO
of The Biltmore Company today. His wife Virginia oversees the equestrian center at the estate and is on the Biltmore board of directors.
[7]
- Diana Cecil, married George Pickering and had issue.
[8]
Death
[
edit
]
Cecil died at home in
Asheville, North Carolina
, on October 31, 2017, aged 89. His death occurred 2 weeks before his wife's death.
[
citation needed
]
Ancestry
[
edit
]
Ancestors of William A. V. Cecil
|
---|
|
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Covington, Howard E. (2007).
Lady on the Hill: How Biltmore Estate Became an American Icon
(1st ed.). Hoboken (New Jersey): Wiley.
ISBN
978-0471758181
.
- ^
"Answer Man: Biltmore's Bill Cecil narrowly avoided being shot down by Nazis?"
. Asheville Citizen Times
. Retrieved
February 8,
2024
.
- ^
"The Biltmore Equestrian Center"
.
biltmore.com
. Retrieved
October 31,
2017
.
- ^
Covington, Howard E. (2007).
Lady on the Hill: How Biltmore Estate Became an American Icon
(1st ed.). Hoboken (New Jersey): Wiley.
ISBN
978-0471758181
.
- ^
"NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK NOMINATION: BILTMORE ESTATE"
(PDF)
. nps.gov
. Retrieved
October 31,
2017
.
- ^
William A.V. Cecil, Vanderbilt's grandson and Biltmore owner, dead at 89
, citizen-times.com; accessed October 31, 2017.
- ^
"The Biltmore Equestrian Center"
.
biltmore.com
. Retrieved
October 31,
2017
.
- ^
William A.V. Cecil, Vanderbilt's grandson and Biltmore owner, dead at 89
, citizen-times.com; accessed October 31, 2017.
External links
[
edit
]
- About Us
, biltmore.com; accessed October 31, 2017.