Edwin D. Morgan III
Edwin Denison Morgan III was an American businessman and yachtsman.
Life and career
Born in 1854 as Alfred Waterman Morgan, he was the grandson of New York governor Edwin D. Morgan, and a distant relative of financier J.P. Morgan. He graduated from Harvard College in 1877. He changed his name to Edwin Denison Morgan III at the request of his grandfather after the premature death of his father, Edwin Denison Morgan II.After college, he became a highly successful businessman and was the founder of Nassau Light and Power, a shareholder in many significant livestock interests, and the president of mining companies in Mexico at the beginning of the 1900s.
Notable residences
Beacon Rock
Beacon Rock was Morgan's summer home in Newport, Rhode Island. It was completed for him around 1890 and nicknamed the "Acropolis of Newport". It was designed by architect Stanford White of McKim, Mead & White. With deep water on both sides of the peninsula in Bretons Cove, he kept his large yacht Constellation, along with the smaller racing yachts he owned, while residing there.Wheatly
Wheatly was Morgan's residence on Long Island in the village of Old Westbury in North Hempstead, New York. It was built over a 10-year period from 1890 to 1900, and it designed by the architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White. Morgan owned over 650 acres in Wheatley Hills at the time. It became one of Long Island's largest and most complete estates.The estate's stables burned down in 1907. The home was sold to Randall J. Le Boeuf in 1937. Parts of the house were demolished in the 1950s for a residential development. The home is now in pieces, with both wings of the house constituting separate houses. The home's chapel was also made into a private residence. The majority of the former estate now comprises The Wheatley School.
Yachting activities
Morgan was rear commodore, vice commodore and then commodore of the New York Yacht Club. He was part of the winning team of the America's Cup Yacht Race in 1901 aboard the yacht Columbia.He had a close relationship with yacht designer Nathaniel Herreshoff, who designed many yachts for him. Morgan also commissioned the construction of the largest steel hull schooner of the time, the Constellation, designed by Edward Burgess. Over his lifetime, Morgan owned over 17 vessels, ranging from steamers to schooners.