Margaret Brown | |
|---|---|
 Brownc. 1910s | |
| Born | Margaret Tobin (1867-07-18)July 18, 1867 Hannibal, Missouri, U.S. |
| Died | October 26, 1932(1932-10-26) (aged 65) New York City, U.S. |
| Resting place | Cemetery of the Holy Rood, Westbury, New York, U.S. |
| Other names | Margaret Tobin Brown, Maggie Brown, Molly Brown, Mrs. James J. Brown |
| Occupations | Volunteer, philanthropist, and suffragist |
| Known for | Survivor of theTitanic sinking |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Parents |
|
Margaret Brown (néeTobin; July 18, 1867 – October 26, 1932), posthumously known as the "Unsinkable Molly Brown", was an Americansocialite and philanthropist. She was a survivor of theRMSTitanic, whichsank in 1912, and she unsuccessfully urged the crew inLifeboat No. 6 to return to the debris field to look for survivors.[1]
During her lifetime, her friends called her "Maggie", but by her death, obituaries referred to her as the "Unsinkable Mrs. Brown".[2]Gene Fowler referred to her as "Molly Brown" in his 1933 bookTimber Line.[3] The following year, she was referred to as the "Unsinkable Mrs. Brown" and "Molly Brown" in newspapers.[4]
Margaret Tobin was born on July 18, 1867,[5][6][7] near theMississippi River inHannibal, Missouri, on Denkler's Alley.[6][a] The three-room cottage where she was born is now the Molly Brown Birthplace and Museum; it is on 600 Butler Street in Hannibal.[6][8] Her parents were Irish Catholic immigrants John Tobin and Johanna (Collins) Tobin.[9][b] Her siblings were Daniel Tobin, Michael Tobin, William Tobin, and Helen Tobin. Both of Margaret's parents had previously been married to other spouses who had died. Brown had two half-sisters: Catherine Bridget Tobin, by her father's first marriage, and Mary Ann Collins, by her mother's first marriage.[12] Called Maggie by her family, she attended her maternal aunt Mary O'Leary's grammar school, which was across the street from her home. Nearby was also the Hannibal Gas Works where her father worked as a laborer. Their neighborhood was a tight-knit Irish Catholic community, where people traveled westward through the town for the gold fields.[13]: 63
At age 18, Margaret relocated toLeadville, Colorado, with her siblings Daniel Tobin, Mary Ann Collins Landrigan, and Mary Ann's husband John Landrigan. Margaret and her brother Daniel shared a two-room log cabin, and she found work sewing carpets and draperies at a dry goods store,[12] Daniels, Fisher and Smith. Daniel was a miner.[14]
In Leadville, she met and marriedJames Joseph Brown (1854–1922), nicknamed "J.J.", an imaginative, self-educated man. He was not a rich man, and she married J.J. for love. After his death she said:
I wanted a rich man, but I loved Jim Brown. I thought about how I wanted comfort for my father and how I had determined to stay single until a man presented himself who could give to the tired older man the things I longed for him. Jim was as poor as we were and had no better chance. I struggled hard with myself in those days. I loved Jim, but he was poor. Finally, I decided that I'd be better off with a poor man whom I loved than with a wealthy one whose money had attracted me. So I married Jim Brown.[15][16]: 44–45
Margaret and J.J. married in Leadville Annunciation Church on September 1, 1886.[12] They had two children: Lawrence Palmer Brown (1887–1949), known as Larry, and Catherine Ellen Brown (1889–1969), known as Helen.[16]: 51, 52, 117 They also raised three of their nieces: Grace, Florence, and Helen Tobin.[13]: xxiv
In 1893, the Brown family acquired great wealth when J.J.'smining engineering efforts proved instrumental in the exploration of a substantial ore seam at theLittle Jonny Mine.[16]: 56–57 His employer, Ibex Mining Company, awarded him 12,500 shares of stock and a seat on the board.[17] In Leadville, Margaret helped by working insoup kitchens to assist miners' families.[18]
In 1894, the Browns bought a Victorian mansion, now known as theMolly Brown House, inDenver for US$30,000 (equivalent to $1,090,000 in 2024). In 1897, they built a summer house,Avoca Lodge, in Southwest Denver nearBear Creek, which gave the family more social opportunities. Margaret became a charter member of the Denver Woman's Club,[19] whose mission was the improvement of women's lives by continuing education and philanthropy. Adjusting to the trappings of a society lady, Brown became immersed in the arts and fluent in French, German, Italian, and Russian. Brown co-founded a branch in Denver of theAlliance Française to promote her love ofFrench culture.[13]: 34, 145–146 She lobbied for women's right to vote.[20][c]
J.J. was not interested in the social life that Brown enjoyed and the couple began to drift apart.[20] After 23 years of marriage, Margaret and J.J. privately signed a separation agreement in 1909. She received a US$700 monthly allowance (equivalent to $24,000 in 2024) to continue her travels and political work.[13]: 167 Brown assisted in fundraising forDenver's Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, which was completed in 1911. She also worked withJudge Ben Lindsey to help destitute children and establish one of the United States' firstjuvenile courts.[19]
Brown spent the first months of 1912 in Paris, visiting her daughter and as part of theJohn Jacob Astor IV party, until she received word from Denver that her eldest grandchild, Lawrence Palmer Brown Jr., was ill. She immediately booked passage on the first available liner leaving for New York, theRMSTitanic.[13]: 1–2 Originally, her daughter Helen was supposed to accompany her, but Helen, who had studied at theSorbonne in Paris, decided to take a side trip to London with friends.[13]: 2–3 Brown boarded theTitanic as a first-class passenger on the evening of April 10, conveyed aboard the tenderSSNomadic atCherbourg, France,[13]: 3–4 and sailed for New York City that night.[23]
TheTitanic sank early on April 15, 1912, at around 2:20 a.m., after striking an iceberg at around 11:40 p.m. the previous night.[1][23] Brown helped other people board the lifeboats but was finally persuaded to abandon ship inlifeboat No. 6.[1] More than 1,500 aboard RMSTitanic perished; there were a total of 2,224 people on the ship.[23] After her death in 1932, Brown was called "Molly Brown" and "The Unsinkable Mrs. Brown" by authors[3][4] because she helped in the ship's evacuation, taking an oar herself in her lifeboat and urging the lifeboat crew to go back and save more passengers.[1][23] Her urgings were met with opposition fromQuartermasterRobert Hichens, the crewman in charge of lifeboat 6. Hichens was fearful that if they were to go back, the lifeboat would either be pulled down due to suction, or those in the water would swamp the boat in an effort to get in. After several attempts to urge Hichens to turn back, Brown threatened to throw him overboard.[1]
Upon being rescued by the shipRMSCarpathia, Brown proceeded to organize a committee with other first-class survivors. The committee worked to secure basic necessities for the second- and third-class survivors, and even provided informal counseling.[24]
In 1914, six years before theNineteenth Amendment granted women the right to vote, Brown ran for Colorado's U.S. Senate seat, but she ended her campaign to serve abroad as the director of theAmerican Committee for Devastated France duringWorld War I. Also in 1914, she contributed to miners and their families after the 1914Ludlow Massacre[20] and she helped organize the International Women's Rights conference that year, which was held inNewport, Rhode Island.[25]
During and after World War I, she worked in France with theRed Cross and later with theAmerican Committee for Devastated France to help wounded French and American soldiers and rebuild areas behind the front line. For her work organizing female ambulance drivers, nurses, and food distributors, Brown was awarded theFrench Legion of Honor in 1932.[9]
J.J. Brown died on September 5, 1922.[13]: 220 Margaret told newspapers that although she had met royalty and other great people around the world, "I've never met a finer, bigger, more worthwhile man than J.J. Brown."[13]: 217 J.J. Brown left vast, yet complicated, real estate, mining, and stock holdings. It was unknown to the Browns and their lawyers how much was left in the estate. Prior to J.J.'s death, he had transferred a large amount of money to his children. Their children were also unaware of how much money Margaret had, but were displeased at the large amounts she spent on charity. Margaret Brown and her children fought in court for six years to settle the estate.[13]: 220–221
In the 1920s, Margaret Brown focused her energy on personal passions, especially the theater. She died in her sleep at 10:55 p.m. on October 26, 1932, at age 65, in New York City'sBarbizon Hotel. Subsequent autopsy revealed a brain tumor. She was buried next to J.J. at St. Brigid's cemetery, now known asCemetery of the Holy Rood, in Westbury, New York,[2][26] following a small ceremony on October 31, 1932, attended by close friends and family. There was singing, but no eulogy.[2]
Brown's fame as aTitanic survivor helped her promote the philanthropic and activism issues she felt strongly about.[20] She was concerned about the rights of workers and women, education and literacy for children, historic preservation, and commemoration of the bravery and chivalry displayed by the men aboard theTitanic.[13]
Avoca Lodge, known asThe Molly Brown Summer House, is in southwestDenver, Colorado nearBear Creek; the home served as a summer retreat for Brown and her husbandJames Joseph Brown. It is listed on theNational Register of Historic Places.[27] Brown's Denver, Colorado, home has been a museum since 1971.[28] It is called theMolly Brown House Museum.[29] There is a trail marker outside it as part of the National Votes for Women Trail;[30] the marker was stolen in November 2023, but was found later that month.[29]
The three-room cottage where Brown was born is now the Molly Brown Birthplace and Museum; it sat at 600 Butler Street inHannibal, Missouri until 2024.[6][8] After dealing with issues of black mold for years, on December 17, 2024 the Molly Brown Birthplace was moved to Main Street in Hannibal, across the street from the Mark Twain boyhood home.[31]
The theme parkDisneyland Paris features a 19th-century riverboat attraction, the Molly Brown Riverboat, named after her.[32] In 1965, astronautsGus Grissom andJohn Young named theirGemini spacecraftMolly Brown in her honor.[33]
In 1985, Brown was inducted into theColorado Women's Hall of Fame.[20]
Brown has been portrayed by:
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