How did the term 'the 400' come to mean the wealthiest and most fashionable members of society in 1892?
Question #79463. Asked by hidoll.
blusuzyq_
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blusuzyq_
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Feb. 1, 1892, Mrs. William Astor invited 400 people to a grand Ball, thus the term 'the 400' became a synonym for the social elite society of the time.
Apr 25 2007, 11:40 AM
zbeckabee
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zbeckabee Moderator 19 year member
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Ward McAllister coined the phrase "the Four Hundred". According to him, this was the number of people in New York who really mattered; the people who felt at ease in the ballrooms of high society. The number was popularly supposed to be the capacity of Mrs. William Backhouse Astor Jr.'s ballroom.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ward_McAllister