Black served in the
United States Navy during
World War I. During the war his ship the was hit by a
torpedo launched from a
German U-boat. While the
Lincoln sank, Black made it into a lifeboat. Soon the U-boat surfaced and circled the life rafts. The sub's
captain claimed to be a Yale alumnus who recognized Black and spoke with him. The sub later left the men to their lifeboats. They were all later rescued by the and transported to
France. A previous report of the incident had the captain as a
Harvard graduate, who took Black on board and set the sub's course for Germany. After the war, he became a member of the
Chicago Board of Trade and thereafter went into the insurance business. He was the founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of C. R. Black Jr. Corporation, an insurance brokerage business in New York City. He was married and had two sons and a daughter. He died in 1963, aged 78 at
St. Luke's Hospital in
Manhattan. ==References==