Harry Elkins Widener
A 1913 painting of Harry Elkins Widener byGabriel Ferrier
Born	(1885-01-03)January 3, 1885 Philadelphia,Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	April 15, 1912(1912-04-15) (aged 27) Atlantic Ocean
Alma mater	Harvard University (A.B., 1907)
Occupation(s)	Businessman, book collector
Known for	Namesake ofHarry Elkins Widener Memorial Library
Signature

Harry Elkins Widener (January 3, 1885 – April 15, 1912) was an American businessman and bibliophile, and a member of theWidener family. His mother builtHarvard University'sWidener Memorial Library in his memory, after his death on the foundering of theRMS Titanic.

Widener was born inPhiladelphia,Pennsylvania, the son ofGeorge Dunton Widener (1861–1912) andEleanor Elkins Widener, and the grandson of Philadelphia businessmenPeter A. B. Widener (1834–1915) andWilliam L. Elkins (1832-1903). He attendedThe Hill School inPottstown, Pennsylvania, and graduated fromHarvard College in 1907, where he was a member ofHasty Pudding Theatricals and theOwl Club. Widener's godfather was the British banking magnate,Charles Mills,the 2nd Baron Hillingdon.^[2][3]

Widener was a member of theGrolier Club.^[4][5]

Book collector and dealerGeorge Sidney Hellman, following Widener's death, said,

the excellence of his technical knowl­edge ... His enthusiasm as a collector and his winning person­ali­ty ... afforded many opportunities of obtaining treasures whose acquisition cannot be explained alone on the basis of the wealth which he commanded. Had he not perished in the Titanic catastrophe, beyond question ... his library would surely have eventually become one of the greatest collec­tions of books in modern times. [He] was not satisfied alone in having a rare book or a rare book inscribed by the author; it was with him a prerequisite that the volume should be in immaculate condition.^[6]

Along with his parents, in April 1912 Widener boarded theTitanic atCherbourg, France bound for New York City. Asthe ship sank Widener's mother and her maid were rescued, but Widener, his father, and his father's valet perished. In 1915, Widener's mother donated theHarry Elkins Widener Memorial Library to Harvard in his memory. Two buildings at the Hill School are also dedicated to Widener, and stained glass windows at St. Paul's Episcopal Church,Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, are dedicated to Widener and his father.

A Harvard legend holds that in order to spare others her son's fate, Widener's mother insisted, as a condition of her gift, that future Harvard graduates be required to learn to swim. However, while Harvard implemented a swimming test in the 1920s, which it later dropped, the policy was unrelated to Widener.^[7]

• Noah Reid (2012)Titanic; TV series

• "Biography of Harry Elkins Widener".Encyclopedia Titanica.
• Eaton, John P. Eaton; Haas, Charles A. (1995).Titanic: Triumph and Tragedy (2nd ed.). W.W. Newton & Company.ISBN 0-393-03697-9.
• "Henry Elkins Widener Collection".Widener Library, Harvard University.
•  Homans, James E., ed. (1918)."Widener, Harry Elkins" .The Cyclopædia of American Biography. New York: The Press Association Compilers, Inc.
• Lord, Walter; Hibreck, Nathaniel (1955).A Night to Remember (2004 Reprint ed.). Owl Books.ISBN 0-8050-7764-2.{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)

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