Madeleine Astor

Madeleine Force.

Madeleine Talmage Force (June 19, 1893 - March 27, 1940) was an American socialite and a survivor of the RMS Titanic. She was also the widow and second wife of millionaire, John Jacob Astor IV.

Force was born on June 19, 1893 in Brooklyn, New York, as the younger daughter of William Hurlbut Force and Katherine Arvilla Talmage. She was educated at Miss Ely's school and then for four years at Spence School, which was located at West 48th Street in Manhattan, New York. She was also taken abroad with her sister Katherine by her mother and toured Europe several times. When she was introduced to New York social life, she was immediately adopted by the "Junior League," which was a clique of debutantes. She appeared in several New York society plays and attracted quite a following. She was known to be a very competent horsewoman and enjoyed yachting.

In the spring of 1912, just a half year after her marriage, she returned from her honeymoon on the Titanic as a first-class passenger in France. On the night of April 14, 1912, the ship hit an iceberg. She boarded a lifeboat after one of the boat officers refused him. Her husband and his valet perished in the sinking; the former's body was recovered on April 22, 1912. Force and the other survivors were rescued by the RMS Carpathia. After Madeleine returned home from the ordeal, she was kept in strict retirement. After 1915, she appeared more often and remodeled her house on Fifth Avenue. She lived through other marriages before settling down.

On March 27, 1940, Madeleine died of a heart ailment at her winter mansion in Palm Beach, Florida, at the age of 46. She was buried in Trinity Church Cemetery in New York City, in a mausoleum with her mother.

Family

Force married first to John Jacob Astor IV on September 9, 1911, despite the opposition to the marriage due to the age difference and his prior divorce. After their marriage, they had an extended honeymoon, sailing from New York on a long Egyptian tour. Astor died in the sinking of the Titanic on April 14, 1912.

• John Jacob Astor VI - m. (1) Ellen French (2) Gertrude Gretsch (3) Dolores Fullman (4) Sue Sandford

Force married second to William Karl Dick, her childhood friend, on June 22, 1916 in Bar Harbor, Maine. They divorced on July 21, 1933, in Reno, Nevada.

• William Force Dick
• John Henry Dick II

Force married third to Enzo Fiermonte, the Italian actor and boxer, on November 27, 1933, in a civil ceremony in New York City. They honeymooned in Palm Beach, Florida. They eventually moved there. They had no children together and divorced on June 11, 1938, in West Palm Beach, Florida.