report of the sinking of Titanic''. Most reports featured the Astors in the headlines. While traveling, Madeleine Force Astor became pregnant. Wanting the child born in the U.S., the Astors boarded
Titanic on her maiden voyage to New York. They embarked in
Cherbourg, France via the SS
Nomadic, in first class and were the wealthiest passengers aboard. Accompanying the Astors were Astor's valet, Victor Robbins; Mrs. Astor's maid, Rosalie Bidois; and her nurse, Caroline Louise Endres. They also took their pet dog, an
Airedale Terrier named Kitty. The Astors were deeply fond of their dog and had come close to losing her on a previous trip when she went missing in Egypt. Kitty did not survive the sinking. They had met up with
Margaret "Molly" Brown traveling through Egypt. According to
Edith Rosenbaum, Astor pointed out some vital statistics of the ship, and said, "She's unsinkable, a modern shipbuilding miracle." On April 14, when Captain
Edward J. Smith attended a large dinner party in B Deck restaurant, Salon Steward Thomas Whiteley stated that Smith "talked and joked with Mr Astor. Shortly after
Titanic hit the iceberg, Isaac Frauenthal saw Astor approach Captain Smith and tell him, "Captain, my wife is not in good health. She has gone to bed, and I don't want to get her up unless it is absolutely necessary. What is the situation?" Smith advised Astor to awaken his wife, as they might have to take to the boats. Astor "never changed expression...thanked the Captain courteously and walked rapidly, but composedly away". Astor informed his wife of the collision but told her the damage did not appear to be serious. He and his wife and other passengers talked about the collision with the iceberg. Some time later, as the ship's
lifeboats were being manned, Astor remained unperturbed; he and his wife played with the mechanical horses in the gymnasium. At some point Astor is thought to have sliced open the lining of an extra lifebelt with a pen knife to show his wife its contents, either to prove they were not of use or to reassure her that they were. He even declared: "We are safer here than in that little boat." 11-year old Master Elias Nicola-Yarred and his 14-year-old sister Jamilia also made it to the boat, stating that Astor turned to help other passengers into the boat, including Yarred and his sister. After Lifeboat 4 was lowered at 1:55 am, Astor is said to have stood with
John B. Thayer,
Harry Elkins Widener and Arthur Ryerson, waving. Astor was identified by the initials sewn on the label of his jacket. Among the items found on him was a gold
pocket watch, which his son Vincent claimed and wore the rest of his life. It was later reported that "in 1935, Vincent gave the watch as a christening gift to the infant son of William Dobbyn IV, John Jacob Astor's executive secretary". The pocket watch was sold for £1.175 million at auction on April 27, 2024. In his memoir, Gracie claimed that he heard Astor's body was in a crushed condition; this led to popular belief that Astor may have been one of the swimmers killed by the first
funnel falling from the ship. This is disputed by John Snow, an undertaker aboard the ship, who said that the body was in an 'excellent state of preservation', and Captain Richard Roberts, the commander of Astor's yacht, who said that apart from some slight discolouration by water, Astor's features were unharmed. Gerald Ross, an electrician on the
Mackay-Bennett, reported that Astor's "face was swollen, one jaw was injured." Author Tim Maltin writes that Astor's jaw injury was relatively slight and could have been caused by his lifebelt, if he jumped from the
Titanic, or by other drowning passengers or debris as the ship sank. Among the more dubious accounts, Dr. Washington Dodge says he saw Astor standing with
Archibald Butt near the bridge as the ship went down. Dodge's account is highly unlikely, as his lifeboat was more than away from the ship at the time it sank. Survivor Philip Mock was quoted as claiming to have seen Astor in the water clinging to a raft with
W. T. Stead. "Their feet became frozen," said Mock, "and they were forced to release their hold. Both were drowned." Mock's account is unlikely as he left the ship in Boat No.11. Astor was buried in
Trinity Church Cemetery in Manhattan, New York City. Four months after
Titanic sank, Madeleine Astor gave birth to his second son,
John Jacob "Jakey" Astor VI. ==Estate==