Robert Guestier Goelet

Robert Guestier Goelet (guh-LET;[1] September 28, 1923 – October 9, 2019) was a prominent American philanthropist and former executive at Chemical Bank, founded by his family, the Goelet family, in 1824.[2]

Robert Guestier Goelet
President of the New-York Historical Society
In office 1971–1987
Preceded by	Frederick Baldwin Adams Jr.
Succeeded by	Albert L. Key
President of the American Museum of Natural History
In office 1968–1975
Preceded by	Gardner D. Stout
Succeeded by	George D. Langdon Jr.
Personal details
Born	September 28, 1923 Amblainville, France
Died	October 9, 2019 (aged 96) New York City, U.S.
Spouse(s)	Alexandra Gardiner Creel ​ ​ (m. 1976; his death 2019)​
Children	Alexandra Gardiner Goelet Robert Gardiner Goelet
Parents	Robert Walton Goelet Anne Marie Guestier Goelet
Education	Brooks School
Alma mater	Harvard University
Occupation	Banker, real estate developer
Known for	Philanthropy

Early life

Goelet was born on September 28, 1923 at a chateau in Amblainville, France. He was a son of Anne Marie (née Guestier) Goelet, whose family were wine merchants (Barton & Guestier) and owned the 10,000 acre chateau, and Robert Walton Goelet.[3] His mother was French and his father was American. His father, who owned the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in New York, donated the hotel to Harvard University after his death in 1941.[4]

After growing up in France, he moved to New York at age 12 and then attended the Brooks School in North Andover, Massachusetts before graduating from Harvard University with a bachelor's degree in history in 1945.[5]

Career

During World War II, Goelet trained as a Helldiver bomber pilot with the United States Navy, but he did not see combat. He later served as a Lt. in the U.S. Navy Reserve.[6][7] Goelet also served as a member of the New York City Council.[8]

Goelet served as president of the family real-estate firms, Goelet Realty Company and the Rhode Island Corporation,[9] both based out of 425 Park Avenue.[10] In 1952, he was elected a director of the Chemical Bank (today known as JPMorgan Chase & Co.) which was founded by an ancestor, Peter Goelet, in 1824.[11] He also served on the boards of French Institute Alliance Française, the National Audubon Society, the Carnegie Institution for Science, and Phipps Houses. In 1957, he became a director of Air America, the Central Intelligence Agency-financed private air charter company.[1]

In late 1975, he was named president of the American Museum of Natural History,[9] and was known as a "man 'nuts for fossils'."[10] He served as the museum's chairman until his retirement in 1989.[12] He previously served as president of the New York Historical Society (from 1971 to 1987),[8] and the New York Zoological Society (from 1970 to 1975)[13] (which is today known as the Wildlife Conservation Society).[1]

Personal life

In September 1976, 52 year-old Goelet was married to former debutante and graduate of both Barnard College and Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, Alexandra Gardiner Creel (b. 1940) on Gardiners Island.[5] Alexandra, who was previously married to Peter F. Tufo, is the daughter of Alexandra (née Gardiner) Creel and J. Randall Creel, a retired Justice of the Court of Special Sessions and Criminal Court.[5] Together, they were the parents of:

• Alexandra Gardiner Goelet (b. c. 1977), who runs the family investment office along with her younger brother Robert.[1]
• Robert Gardiner Goelet (b. c. 1979), a former project manager for the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation.[14]

After the death of his wife's uncle, Robert David Lion Gardiner, in 2004, the Goelets took full possession the 3,300 acre Gardiner's Island, which has 27 miles of coastline, several colonial buildings, a 200-year-old windmill, and a family cemetery.[14]

He was a member of the french Jockey Club, Paris, from 1950 to his death.

Goelet died at his home in Manhattan on October 9, 2019.[1]

References

1. Sam Roberts (2019-10-11). "Robert Goelet, New York Grandee and Naturalist, Dies at 96". The New York Times. Retrieved 2019-10-12.
2. Dinitia Smith (1989-06-05). "The blue-blood feud over Gardiner's Island: Wasp's Nest". New York Magazine. pp. 30–39. Retrieved 2019-10-12.
3. "ROBERT W. GOELET DIES IN HOME AT 61. Corporation Director, Owner of Large Realty Holdings Here, Succumbs to Heart Attack. He Inherited $60,000,000. Sportsman, a Leader in Social Circles in Newport and New York, Kin of Early Settlers" (PDF). Retrieved August 19, 2019.
4. "GOELET WILL GIVES 'RITZ' TO HARVARD; Hotel and Its Site, Taxed on $3,675,000, Go to the University Unrestricted" (PDF). The New York Times. 12 July 1941. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
5. "Notes on people: Alexandra Creel married Goelet Museum President". The New York Times. 1976-09-11. p. 12. Retrieved 2019-10-12. Independently wealthy, Mr. Goelet devoted much of his time to civic causes. By late 1975, when he was named president of the American Museum of Natural History, he had served in the same role at the New-York Historical Society and the New York Zoological Society (now the Wildlife Conservation Society). He was later the museum’s chairman, until 1989, when he retired from the post.
6. "Goelet, Robert G. (Robert Guestier), 1924- - Biodiversity Heritage Library". www.biodiversitylibrary.org. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
7. "Goelet, Robert G. (Robert Guestier), 1924-". socialarchive.iath.virginia.edu. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
8. "Goelet Is Elected New Head Of Historical Society Here" (PDF). The New York Times. 12 February 1971. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
9. "American Museum Names Businessman To Head the Board" (PDF). The New York Times. 20 May 1975. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
10. Matiland, Leslie (1 December 1975). "American Museum's New President Is a Man 'Nuts for Fossils'" (PDF). The New York Times. p. 15. Retrieved 14 October 2019. Mr. Goelet resigned his post as president of the New York Zoological Society upon his election to the presidency of the museum, and his term of office as a director of the National Audubon Society ended recently, after 18 years.
11. "Chemical Bank & Trust Chooses a New Director" (PDF). The New York Times. 10 July 1952. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
12. "Chairman Retires at Natural History Museum". The New York Times. 11 May 1989. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
13. "Zoological Society Elects Businessman as President" (PDF). The New York Times. 11 December 1970. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
14. Rather, John (5 September 2004). "Debating the Future Of Gardiners Island". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 October 2019.