John was the youngest of 5 in his family, he graduated high school and went to Harvard. He worked as an American businessman, real estate builder, investor, inventor, a lieutenant colonel in the Spanish American War, a prominent member of the Astor Family, along with a writer who released a book called "A Journey In Other Worlds". He invented the bicycle brake in 1898 along with developing a turbine engine and a "Vibratory disintergrator" which was helpful for producing gas from a pneumatic road-improver and peat moss. Astor was also a first class passenger on the RMS Titanic.
John did mary Ava Lowle Astor in 1891 but unfortunately divorced in 1909. Astor remarried to Madeleine Talmage in 1911 who was actually 30 years younger than him.
Picture Courtesy-
Here is what a bicycle brake looks like.
This is one of the rooms from the First class part of the Titanic.
Madeleine Talmage, Astors wife and a survivor of the Titanic.