| C. Oliver Iselin | |
| Birth Date: | June 8, 1854 |
| Birth Place: | New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Glen Head, New York, U.S. |
| Resting Place: | Woodlawn Cemetery Woodlawn, Bronx, New York |
| Alma Mater: | Columbia Law School |
| Occupation: | Banker, yachtsman, philanthropist |
| Spouse: | |
| Parents: | Adrian Georg Iselin Eleanora O'Donnell Iselin |
| Children: | Nora Iselin (1881-1939) C. Oliver Iselin Jr. (1890-1979) William Goddard Iselin (1903-1909) Edith Hope Iselin Jones (1905-2001) |
| Awards: | America's Cup Hall of Fame (1994) |
| Relations: | Adrian Iselin Jr. (brother) Columbus O'Donnell (grandfather) |
Charles Oliver Iselin (June 8, 1854 – January 1, 1932) was an American banker and yachtsman who was captain of racing yachts that won the America's Cup three times.
Iselin was the son of Adrian Georg Iselin and Eleanora O Donnell Iselin. Eleanora O'Donnell was the great granddaughter of Columbus O'Donnell. His great-great-grandfather Isaac Iselin-Roulet came to America in 1801 from Basel, Switzerland,[1] where the Iselin's had been merchants, public officials, and military and professional men since the 14th century. Isaac amassed a large fortune in the importing business, and his descendants became private bankers and philanthropists in New York City and New Rochelle, New York.
He was educated at Columbia University, graduating in 1874 with a LL.B.[2]
Oliver was considered to be one of the greatest American yachtsmen of his time, participating in and winning six consecutive America's Cup races: 1887, 1893, 1895, 1899, 1901 and 1903.[3] He built a large breakwater next to his Premium Point, New Rochelle estate All View so that he could dock his yachts Defender, Reliance and Columbia safely at home.[4] In 1994 Oliver Iselin was inducted into the Herreshoff Marine Museum's America's Cup Hall of Fame.[5]
Iselin was first married to Fannie Garner (1861–1890) with whom he had a son, C. Oliver Jr. (1890–1979), who named his son, C. Oliver III (1927–2017).[6] [7] After her death, he married Hope Goddard (1868–1970), who was the first woman ever to serve as part of the crew on an America's Cup yacht, in 1894.[8]
Iselin died on January 1, 1932, at Glen Head on Long Island.[9]