Mystery Foto #13 Solved: 1900 Daimler Phoenix previously owned by Willie K.
Art Kleiner challenged you to identify this weekend's Mystery Foto.
Answers to the Mystery Foto questions:
Identify:
- The year, make and model of the race car
1900 23/28 HP Daimler Phoenix
- The race car's first owner
William K. Vanderbilt, Jr's White Ghost
- Who purchased the race car from the first owner?
Edward Russell Thomas (1875-1926), owner of the New York Morning Telegraph, a Yale graduate whose father, General Samuel Thomas, left a fortune of twenty million dollars enabling an annual trust fund of $180,000 for Edward. The son reportedly made two million dollars on his own by creating a corner in the cotton market. In the 1907 financial panic he was forced to sell his renowned racing stables but eventually recovered his fortune.
Why is this race car considered notorious in automobile history?
In 1902, Thomas was the first driver in America to kill someone with an automobile when his Daimler struck a seven year-old child and dragged the body three blocks.
Kudos question: Link Cole Porter to the Mystery Foto.
Edward R. Thomas first married in 1901 , a 17 year-old Virginian, Linda Lee. After their divorce she took her sizable financial settlement and married the composer Cole Porter in 1919.
Comments (3)
Congrats and kudos to Greg O., Steve Lucas and Dick Gorman for their slam dunking the Mystery Foto.
Enjoy,
Howard Kroplick
The Automobile Magazine, December 1901
Caption: Edward R. Thomas's 28 HP Daimler, formerly W.K. Vanderbilt, Jr.'s White Ghost
William K. Vanderbilt, Jr. driving the White Ghost a the 1900 Newport Races.
Close-Ups
Comments
-The year, make and model of the race car
1900 23 h.p. Daimler Phoenix ‘White Ghost’
-The race car’s first owner
Willie K. Vanderbilt
-Who purchased the race car from the first owner?
Edward Russel Thomas
-Why is this race car considered notorious in automobile history?
In an accident in 1902, Thomas struck and killed a 7 year old boy.
-Kudos question: Link Cole Porter to the Mystery Foto.
E.R. Thomas was married to Linda Lee whom eventually she divorced partly due to the car and then went on to marry Cole Porter.
Below is a photo of Willie K. during his time owning he car.
That’s a 1900 Daimler Phoenix, first imported to the USA in 1900 by Willie K. Jr., who named it the White Ghost. It was used by Willie K. to participate in his first major race in Newport, RI. He subsequently sold it to his good friend Edward Russell Thomas who, while speeding on Convent Avenue in NYC, unfortunately ran over and killed a seven year old boy, Henry Theiss. E. R. Thomas’ wife, Linda Lee of Louisville, KY, later divorced him and married Cole Porter. Attached are photos of E. R. Thomas and Linda Lee.
The car is a 1900 Daimler Phoenix 23 HP, (Later nicknamed the White Ghost).
The car’s first owner was William K. Vanderbilt Jr.
Edward R. Thomas purchased the car from Vanderbilt. The car is considered notorious because Willie K cut the speed record between Newport and Boston to about half the previous record time. Only slightly slower than railway travel time.
As for the link to Cole Porter, the second owner of the White Ghost was, as mentioned above, Edward R. Thomas. He married a woman named Linda Lee. She later divorced him and then married Cole Porter.
Nice going, guys. Two more stories concerning Willie’s “White Ghost”. First is from the New York Times (June 2, 1900) and the second is from the Oyster Bay Guardian (Dec. 11, 1970). The latter published the story in a column named “Do You Remeber? 70 Years Ago”.
The White Ghost caused quite a stir in upper Manhattan (The Motor World, April, 1901)! And the next owner after Willie K. and ER Thomas - John A. Drake of Chicago (The Mail & Express Illustrated Saturday Magazine, April 12, 1902)