Robert Gould Shaw II

Male, Person

1872 –

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Who is Robert Gould Shaw II?

Robert Gould Shaw II was a wealthy landowner and socialite of the leisure class in the greater Boston area of Massachusetts during the late 19th century, in an era of rapid economic and population growth in the United States referred to as the Gilded Age.

Born in 1872 into one of the wealthiest and most influential families in Boston, he was a first cousin of Robert Gould Shaw. RGS was a colonel in the Union Army during the American Civil War, and commander of the 54th Regiment, whose enlisted members were all African American and the first to be allowed to serve in the Union Army. Colonel Shaw was killed in action with many of his men, who made a historic fight during the Second Battle of Fort Wagner in July 1863.

As an adult, RGS II gained a reputation for alcohol abuse and promiscuity. His first wife was Viscountess Nancy Witcher Langhorne, and they had a son together, Robert Gould Shaw III, known as Bobby. RGS II and Nancy Langhorne divorced after four years of marriage. She moved to England after some time, where she met and married Waldorf Astor, who later succeeded his father as Viscount.

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Born
Jun 16, 1872
Beacon Hill
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Submitted
on July 23, 2013

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