Ivan Sergeyevich Obolensky

Businessman

Birthday May 15, 1925

Birth Sign Taurus

Birthplace London, England

DEATH DATE 2019, Manhattan, New York, U.S. (94 years old)

Nationality United States

#47654 Most Popular

1883

She was the daughter of Felix Signoret McGinnis (1883–1945), vice-president of the Southern Pacific Company, and Clara (née Leonhardt) McGinnis (1887–1984).

1925

Prince Ivan Sergeyevich Obolensky (May 15, 1925 – January 29, 2019) was an American financial analyst and corporate officer.

He was previously commissioned in the United States Navy, serving as a Flight Lieutenant, and had also been a publisher.

Obolensky was born in London, England, on May 15, 1925, to Prince Sergei Platonovich "Serge" Obolensky and Ava Alice Muriel Astor.

Paternally, he belonged to the Obolensky family of Russian princes who trace their lineage to the Rurikid rulers of Kyivan Rus who preceded the Romanov emperors.

Through his mother, he was a great-great-great-grandson of John Jacob Astor and the elder grandson of John Jacob Astor IV, who died on the RMS Titanic, and is thus a member of the Astor family.

1927

After their divorce, Claire married designer and art advisor Garrick C. Stephenson (1927–2007).

1947

Obolensky was educated at St. George's School in Middletown, Rhode Island, and graduated from Yale College in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1947.

While at Yale, he was a member of St. Elmo, a senior secret society.

After Yale, Obolensky became a writer working for Telavid Inc. Imports, and went on to serve with the United States Navy as a pilot.

1949

Obolensky first married in New York City on October 10, 1949, to Claire Elizabeth McGinnis (1929–2015).

Claire was educated at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and at Miss Burke's School, both in San Francisco, and at Finch College in Manhattan.

1956

Before their divorce in 1956, Ivan and Claire were the parents of one daughter and two sons:

1957

In 1957, he formed a publishing firm McDowell, Obolensky Inc. with a partner, David McDowell.

The firm published James Agee's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, A Death in the Family (1957), and was the U.S. publisher for Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart (1959).

1959

On October 22, 1959, Obolensky married for the second time to Mary Elizabeth Morris (1934–2006).

Together, they were the parents of one son:

1960

It was dissolved in 1960.

1965

Obolensky then formed a second publishing house, Ivan Obolensky, Inc. This firm continued through 1965, when he joined the investment banking firm of A. T. Brod & Company as a partner.

1968

The publishing house continued until 1968 under the name Astor-Honor.

Throughout his main career on Wall Street as a financial analyst, Obolensky covered many prestigious accounts.

He was Vice President of Moseley, Hallgarten, Estabrook & Weeden Inc., Stock brokers and Vice President of Shields & Company.

Obolensky was an active member of the philanthropic community in New York.

He was, for many years, an active supporter of the Soldiers', Sailors', Marines', Coast Guard and Airmen's Club, and New York's International Debutante Ball, which benefits the club.

He was also Treasurer of the Russian Nobility Association in America, Inc., and the US Prior of the Orthodox Order of St. John.

2019

He died on January 29, 2019.

Ivan Obolensky died on January 29, 2019.

His funeral was held at the Church of the Incarnation in New York City.