James Worth Thornton (September 19, 1906 – February 6, 1983, Virginia)[1] was a businessman and scion of the politically and socially connected Thorntons of Indiana. Thornton was the son of Sir Henry Worth Thornton and Lady Virginia Blair,[2] daughter of banker and steel magnate George Dike Blair. Also, Thornton appeared in the journals of Edmund Wilson, the noted essayist.
Thornton was born into a prominent family in the railroad business and enjoyed a privileged childhood. After graduating from the Royal Military College of Canada, Ontario, while working in Europe, Thornton earned a reputation as an international playboy[3]: he was reportedly an excellent polo player and prominent in social circles. While working for a firm in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1931 Thornton married Helene-Marthe (Elena ) Mumm von Schwarzenstein,[4] a German-Russian-French aristocrat and partial heir to the Mumm champagne fortune.[5] Her maternal relations (the de Struve family[6]) were prominent Russian diplomats and astronomers. After marriage, Thornton served as Vice-President of the Mumm family’s American Incorporation.[7] Thornton and Elena had one son: Henry Hermann Mumm Thornton,[8] born 1932.
Shortly after marriage, James and Elena Mumm Thornton moved to Montreal and, then, to New York City, where Elena served as an assistant editor for Town & Country (magazine). While working as an editor, Elena met Edmund Wilson, the prominent author and critic, and fell in love.[9] In 1946, Elena and Edmund fled to Reno, Nevada, divorced their respective spouses, and married, creating a minor media sensation. Elena Mumm Thornton was Edmund Wilson’s fourth wife.[10]
James W. Thornton joined the Central Intelligence Agency in 1950, retiring in 1958 upon marrying Martha Florence Armstrong, granddaughter of the 1st Baronet Armstrong.[11] Until his death on February 6, 1983, Thornton moved frequently, living in New York City, Spain, Bermuda, Florida, and northern Virginia.[12] Thornton's grandchildren include Dr. Sandra Christine Thornton-Whitehouse, wife of Sheldon Whitehouse, Senator from Rhode Island; Elena Thornton Kissel, wife of musician and producer, Michael Case Kissel, 3rd great grandson of Cornelius Vanderbilt; Nina Rosalie McMann; and James Speno Mumm Thornton. His great-grandchildren include Mary Whitehouse, Alexander Whitehouse, Siena Kissel, Lucy Kissel, Rosalie Kissel, Keely Russell-Thornton, and Henry Russell-Thornton. He was a second cousin of silver screen actress Edna Goodrich and Elcar Interim President Arthur Martin Graffis. His cousin, Helen Thornton Geer, was a prominent librarian and researcher.
Through his maternal line, he was related to the powerful Cox family: billionaire heiresses Anne Cox Chambers and Barbara Cox Anthony were his second cousins.[13]