NY socialite Astor dies aged 105

Mrs Astor said that money should be spread around "like manure"

US philanthropist and socialite Brooke Astor has died of pneumonia at her home in New York, aged 105, her lawyer said.

Mrs Astor donated more than $195m (£97m) to New York's cultural institutions and charity projects.

Last year, she was at the centre of a bitter legal dispute between family members over her care.

Mrs Astor married her third husband Vincent Astor in 1953. She inherited part of the Astor family's fur and real estate fortune on his death in 1959.

Neglect row

She had one son, Anthony Dryden Marshall, from her first marriage to John Dryden Kuser, whom she wed when she was only 16. It ended in divorce after 10 years.

Mrs Astor said her second marriage to stockbroker Charles Marshall in 1932 was a "true love match", and her son later took Mr Marshall's name.

Tens of thousands of New Yorkers were the beneficiaries of Mrs Astor's good will and kind nature, many unaware of the origins of the donations Michael Bloomberg New York mayor

But in 2006, Mrs Astor's grandson Philip Marshall sued Anthony Marshall, accusing him of neglecting his elderly mother by keeping her in squalid conditions and exploiting her wealth.

Mr Marshall denied the accusations and the case was settled out of court, with guardianship of Mrs Astor given to her friend Annette de la Renta, wife of fashion designer Oscar de la Renta.

Mrs Astor lived by the motto: "Money is like manure, it should be spread around."

As well as donating to what she called New York's "crown jewels" - such as New York Public Library, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Carnegie Hall - she funded projects such as the Apollo Theater in Harlem and donated to youth centres and programmes for homeless people.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg described Mrs Astor as "a quintessential New Yorker and one of the great philanthropists of our time".

"Tens of thousands of New Yorkers were the beneficiaries of Mrs Astor's good will and kind nature, many unaware of the origins of the donations," he said.

She was awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom, one of the highest US civilian honours, for her charity work in 1998.