Matthew Astor Wilks acre estate known as Cruickston Park and mansion designed by Detlef Lienau. Through his mother, Wilks was great-grandson of America's first millionaire John Jacob Astor, the fur trader and real estate magnet. Among his first cousins were DeLancey Astor Kane, Woodbury Kane, S. Nicholson Kane, and John Jacob Astor IV. His father, an English gentleman, was the son of a reverend and was born in London. Wilks, who inherited several million dollars from his family, began buying up property in lower Manhattan in 1876. He torn down the various mixed buildings and commissioned architect Charles W. Clinton to build a
Michael Astor Michael Astor The Hon. Michael Langhorne Astor (10 April 1916 – 28 February 1980) was a British Conservative Party politician. Michael Astor was born on 10 April 1916. He was the fourth child of Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor, and Nancy Witcher Langhorne, both Members of Parliament. He was educated at Eton College. He gained the rank of Captain, serving in the Royal Artillery (Territorial Army). He was elected as Conservative Member of Parliament for Surrey East in the 1945 General Election. He kept his seat in the 1950 election but did not stand in 1951. He wrote a memoir,