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David Hurst Knott was an American hotelier who led the Knott Hotels Corporation in the mid 20th century as an owner and operator of hotels. He was active in New York County politics, having served in the New York State Assembly as the representative of the twenty-fifth district (1912- ) and as the chairman of the New York County Democratic Committee (1919-1934).

Knott was born in Orange, New Jersey, and moved to the Manhattan at two years of age. Knott attended Public School No. 35 on West 13th Street and later graduated from Peddie Institute in Hightstown, NJ. He started his work career at a printing firm, but soon switched to work for his father at the Judson Hotel near Washington Square.

The Knott Hotel chain managed thirty hotels in the 1930's and was the largest hotel chain in the United States, but its relative ranking slipped to seventh by the 1960s as hotel chains proliferated, including such competitors as Hilton Hotels Corporation and Sheraton Hotels and Resorts. The Knott Hotels were known for their restaurant dining

He built further wealth as a bond salesman raising money for American enterprise in Europe. He built Pittsburgh's Carnegie Steel Company, which he sold to J.P. Morgan in 1901 for $480 million, creating the U.S. Steel Corporation. Carnegie devoted the remainder of his life to large-scale philanthropy, with special emphasis on local libraries, world peace, education and scientific research. With the fortune he made from business, he built Carnegie Hall, and founded the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Carnegie Institution for Science, Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland, Carnegie Hero Fund, Carnegie Mellon University and the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, among others. His life has often been referred to as a true "rags to riches" story.

it was sold to Trusthouse Forte Hotels in 1977