Margaret Brown
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- For the New York criminal, see Margaret Brown.
| Margaret Brown | |
 Margaret Brown (right) giving Captain Arthur Henry Rostron an award for his service in the rescue of the Titanic
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| Born | Margaret Tobin July 18, 1867 Hannibal, Missouri |
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| Died | October 26, 1932 (aged 65) |
| Cause of death | Brain tumor |
| Spouse | James Joseph Brown |
| Children | Lawrence Palmer Brown (1887-1949) Catherine Ellen Brown |
| Parents | John Tobin (1820-1899) Johanna Collins (1825-1905) |
Margaret Brown, born Margaret Tobin (July 18, 1867 – October 26, 1932), more widely known as Maggie Brown or Molly Brown, was an American socialite, philanthropist, and activist who became famous as one of the survivors of the sinking of the RMS Titanic. She became known after her death as The Unsinkable Molly Brown, although she was never called Molly during her life.
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[edit] Early life
Margaret Brown was born in Hannibal, Missouri, one of four children born to Irish immigrants John Tobin (1820-1899) and Johanna Collins (1825-1905). Her siblings were Daniel (* 1863), William (* 1869), and Helen Tobin (* 1871). Added to these, Margaret had halfsister Catherine Bridget Tobin by her father's first marriage and halfsister Mary Ann Collins by her mother's first marriage. Both her mother and father had been widowed at a young age.
At age 18, Margaret moved to Leadville, Colorado, with her sister, obtaining a job in a department store. It was here she met and married James Joseph Brown (1854 - 1922), simply known as J.J., an enterprising, self-educated man, in 1886. Brown had always planned to marry a rich man but she married J.J. for love. 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 old man the things I longed for him. Jim was as poor as we were, and had no better chance in life. 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." [citation needed]
Margaret Tobin and J. J. Brown were married in Leadville's Annunciation Church on September 1, 1886. The Browns had two children:
- Lawrence Palmer Brown ("Larry"), was born on August 30, 1887 in Hannibal, Missouri. He married Eileen Elizabeth Horton (1890 - 1985) on January 1, 1911 in Kansas City, Missouri. They had two children: Lawrence Palmer "Pat" Brown, Jr. (1911 - 1976) and Eileen Elizabeth "Betty" Brown (1913 - 1974). The marriage failed and Larry remarried to Mildred Gregory (1895 - 1956) on November 17, 1926 in Beverly Hills, California. This marriage produced no further children. Larry died on April 2, 1949.
- Catherine Ellen Brown ("Helen"), was born on July 1, 1889 in Leadville, Colorado. She married George Joseph Peter Adelheid Benziger (1877 - ?) on April 7, 1913 in Chicago, Illinois. Her children were James George Benziger (1914 - 1995) and George Peter Adelrich Benziger (1917 - 1985). Helen died in 1969.
[edit] Rights and riches
It was also in Leadville that she first became involved in women's rights, helping to establish the Colorado chapter of the National American Women's Suffrage Association, and worked in soup kitchens to assist miners' families. The family came into great wealth when J.J's engineering efforts proved instrumental in the production of a substantial ore seam at the Little Jonny mine of his employers, Ibex Mining Company, and he was awarded 12,500 shares of stock and a seat on the board.
In 1894, the Browns moved to Denver, Colorado, which gave the family more social opportunities. Margaret became a charter member of the Denver Woman's Club, whose mission was the improvement of women's lives through continuing education and philanthropy. In 1901, she was one of the first students to enroll at the Carnegie Institute in New York. Adjusting to the trappings of a society lady, Brown became well-immersed in the arts and fluent in French, German, and Russian. In 1909 and 1914 she ran for Congress; she also assisted in the fundraising for Denver's Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception which was completed in 1912. Margaret also worked with Judge Lindsey to help destitute children and establish the United States' first juvenile court which helped form the basis of the modern U.S. juvenile courts system. Her lifelong career as a human and labor rights advocate earned her prominence in the aftermath of the Ludlow Massacre in Trinidad, Colorado in 1914.
Margaret and J.J. privately separated in 1909, but stayed connected and cared for each other. He died on September 5, 1922.
[edit] Later life
Her fame as a prominent Titanic survivor helped her promote the issues she felt deeply about — the rights of workers and women, education and literacy for children, and historic preservation. During World War I in France she worked with the American Committee for Devastated France to rebuild areas behind the front line, and helped wounded French and American soldiers. She was awarded the French Legion of Honour shortly before her death for her "overall good citizenship" including her relief work in France, her efforts for Titanic survivors, and her activism and philanthropy at home in America. For the last years of her life she was an actress.
[edit] Death
Margaret Tobin Brown died of a brain tumor on October 26, 1932, at age 65.
[edit] Legacy
Margaret was honored as a famous Missourian on the Missouri Walk of Fame in 2006. Her great granddaughter accepted the star on her behalf. The walk of fame is located in Marshfield, Missouri.
In 1965, the capsule launched in the Gemini 3 space mission was unofficially named the "Molly Brown". This was a humorous reference to Gus Grissom's previous incident with Liberty Bell 7, a Mercury capsule which sank in the Atlantic Ocean during recovery operations.
[edit] References
[edit] See also
- The Unsinkable Molly Brown, a 1960 musical with the central character based on the life of Margaret Brown.
- The Unsinkable Molly Brown, a 1964 film based on the musical.
- Titanic, the 1997 film in which Margaret Brown was played by Kathy Bates (see Margaret "Molly" Brown for a description of the film character).
[edit] Further reading
- Kristen Iversen and Muffet Brown: Molly Brown: Unraveling the Myth Johnson Books, 1999 ISBN 1-55566-237-4.
