Pierre Lorillard IV

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pierre Lorillard IV (October 13, 1833 – July 7, 1901) was an American tobacco manufacturer and thoroughbred race horse owner.

Born in Westchester, New York, he was the son of Peter (Pierre) Lorillard (1796-1867) and Catherine Griswold. In 1760, his great-grandfather, and namesake, founded P. Lorillard and Company in New York City to process tobacco, cigars, and snuff. Today, P. Lorillard is the oldest tobacco company in the U.S.

Pierre Lorillard married Emily Taylor with whom he had four children. In the early 1880's he helped make Newport, Rhode Island a yachting center with his schooner "Vesta" and a steam yacht named "Radha." He owned a summer estate in Newport called "The Breakers" which he sold to Cornelius Vanderbilt II in 1885 in order to use his newly developed estate, the Tuxedo Club, at what became known as Tuxedo Park in Orange County, New York. Lorillard had inherited 13,000 acres around Tuxedo Lake which he developed in conjunction with William Waldorf Astor and other wealthy associates into a luxury retreat. Lorillard is reported to be the person who introduced the English dinner jacket to the United States in 1886 at one of his formal parties held at the resort on Tuxedo Lake. The "new" look was given the name, tuxedo.

An avid sportsman, Pierre Lorillard and his brother George were both involved in thoroughbred horse racing. Although Pierre Lorillard's horse "Parole" finished fourth in the 1876 Kentucky Derby, it went on to race with considerable success both in the United States and in Europe. However, another horse owned by Pierre Lorillard name "Saxon" won the Belmont Stakes that year. In the 19th century, shipping horses from New York to Louisville, Kentucky was a major undertaking and because back then both the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes were both held in the New York City area, neither of the Lorillard brothers raced again in the Derby. Pierre Lorillard established Rancocas Stable, named for the New Jersey town where Lorillard owned a country manor. He spent time in Paris, France and in England where in 1881 his horse "Iroquois" became the first American-owned and -bred horse to win a European classic race. Ridden by the champion English jockey, Fred Archer, his horse won the Epsom Derby then went on to also capture the St. Leger Stakes. Lorillard had other successes in England including with the horse named for the actor "David Garrick" who won the 1901 Chester Cup ridden by American jockey, Danny Maher.

Beyond his interest in racehorses, Lorillard was a scholar who financed the expedition of the French archaeologist Désiré Charnay and his publication of "The Ancient Cities of the New World. Being Travels and Explorations in Mexico and Central America from 1857 - 1882." For making the project possible, the government of France awarded Lorillard the Legion of Honor. Charnay named some Maya ruins "Lorillard City" in his honor, but the name did not stick, and the site is better known as Yaxchilan. Lorillard also helped finance some of the explorations of Augustus Le Plongeon.

Pierre Lorillard died in 1901, aged 67, and was interred in the Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York. His wife Emily died in 1925 and was interred next to him.

Lorillard Place in The Bronx is named for him and brother George.