| |
| |
Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient Brooke Astor
BROOKE RUSSELL ASTOR
Awarded by
President Bill Clinton
January 15, 1998
Legendary in her beloved New York and admired throughout our Nation for her wide-ranging and hands-on philanthropy, Brooke Astor has given generously of her wealth, her time, and her compassion for the common good. She has put into action her simple philosophy that "if you have enough money for three meals a day and you're not too busy, you ought to do something for others." From her care for the homeless and underprivileged, to her devotion to literacy, conservation, and cultural enrichment, she has indelibly touched the lives of millions. With enthusiasm and energy, Brooke Astor has shone as a jewel of hope for us all.
Bio
A socialite, philanthropist, and writer, Astor was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Largely self-educated, she was a magazine journalist and the author of four books. She married three times (once divorced, twice widowed). Her third husband, Vincent Astor, left her with a fortune that allowed her to become a philanthropist of major proportions. She has awarded an average of 100 grants a year ($9 million a year) to civic projects, social projects, and cultural institutions in New York City, the New York Public Library being one of her major beneficiaries.
Her Opinions:
On Arriving:
When I first came here, it was quite different. I came here when I was just 17 years old. I got married for the first time, so that was in 1919. I was astonished, having come from Peking and Washington, it was rather a change. But still, for instance, Mrs. Vanderbilt's house was perfectly beautiful and it had a wonderful courtyard around it -- and then they tore that down and Bergdorf Goodman built there. The Plaza was always here, but it was quite different. Then, when people gave a dinner party, ladies wore long dresses, to begin with, and they always put out a red carpet onto the pavement. Can you imagine doing that today? There are a whole lot of people who would come and stand and wonder what you were doing. In those days, nobody thought anything of showing they were giving a big dinner.
On Being A Working Woman:
I had a job; I was, during the war, a nurse, a "Gray Lady." We wore a veil and a gray dress. I worked at a hospital all day, and sometimes I'd get home at 3:00 in the morning and I loved it. Up until then, I had done nothing but write poems and things like that -- I've got a whole book of poetry published. Anyway, I was doing all these things but I had never worked. When the war was over, I said to my husband, Buddy Marshall, Charles Marshall, "Buddy, I can't stand it now. I can't just sit around and talk to my friends. I must have a job." And so, Al Kornfeld had been made the head of HOUSE AND GARDEN and so I became Feature Editor and that was a marvelous thing.
C-Span Video
|
|
|
|
|
Medal History
