Richard Thornton Wilson, Jr.

Richard Thornton Wilson Jr. (September 11, 1866 – December 29, 1929) was an American investment banker and capitalist. He was also a prominent figure in thoroughbred horse racing in the early decades of the 20th century. While at Columbia, he joined the Fraternity of Delta Psi (St. Anthony Hall).

Career Wilson joined R. T. Wilson & Co, a cotton trading and investment firm founded by his father in New York City after the Civil War. Among Wilson's successful racehorses were:

The Parader – 1901 Preakness Stakes, 1901 Withers Stakes, 1901 Lawrence Realization Handicap Olambala – 1909 Latonia Derby, 1910 Brighton Handicap, and 1910 Suburban Handicap Campfire – United States leading money winner in 1916 and American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt Hannibal – 1918 Saratoga Special Stakes and 1918 Travers Stakes Pillory – 1922 Preakness and 1922 Belmont Stakes. Wilderness – 1923 Travers Stakes, 1923 Toronto Cup Handicap, and 1925 Shenandoah Sunfire – 1928 Ohio Derby and the 1928 & 1929 Toronto Cup Handicap

Personal life

On March 11, 1902, Wilson married Marion Steedman Mason (1875–1947) of Boston, daughter of Louisa Blake Steedman and Dr. Amos Lawrence Mason, a cousin of Bishop of Massachusetts William Lawrence. Together, they had two daughters: Louisa Steedman Wilson (1904–1974) and Marion Mason Wilson (1906–1982). So his wife would also enjoy winters in South, he built a four-story mansion there in 1916. His older brother, Marshall Orme Wilson, married Caroline Schermerhorn "Carrie" Astor. His sister Belle married the Sir Michael Henry Herbert, the British Ambassador to the United States and the brother of the Earl of Pembroke. His sister Mary Wilson married New York real estate heir Ogden Goelet.

Wilson was a member of many prominent social clubs, including The Brook, the Knickerbocker Club, and the Union Club of the City of New York. Wilson's funeral service at St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church in New York on January 1, 1930, was attended by more than 1,000 people.

His estate was estimated at $10,000,000 at his death.