To Joshua Willingham and Pamela Robertson (née Boggs) Butt. His grandfather, Archibald Butt, served in the American Revolutionary War. His great-grandfather, Josiah Butt, was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Continental Army during the same conflict. He was the nephew of General William R. Boggs of the Confederate States Army (CSA). He had two older brothers (Edward and Lewis), a younger brother (John) and a sister (Clara), and the family was poor. Butt attended various local schools growing up, including Summerville Academy. Butt's father died when Butt was 14 years old, and Butt went to work to support his mother, sister and younger brother. Pamela Butt wanted her son to enter the clergy.
With the financial assistance of the Reverend Edwin G. (who later became the Episcopal Bishop of Florida), Butt attended the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. His mother worked as a librarian at a university, where she lived rent-free in an apartment in the library. While in college, he became interested in journalism and was eventually named editor of the college newspaper. Butt met John Breckinridge Castleman, a former CSA major and guerrilla fighter during the American Civil War and who was, by 1883, adjutant general of the Kentucky Militia. He joined the Delta To Delta fraternity and received higher education in 1888.
After taking graduate level courses in Greek and Latin, Butt traveled to Louisville, Kentucky to meet with Castleman. While in that city, he met Henry Watterson, founder Louisville Journal Courier. Watterson hired him as a reporter, and Butt remained in Louisville for three years. Left the end Courier Journal and worked for Macon Telegraph for a year before moving to cover Washington, D.C. Butt government affairs for several Southern newspapers, including Atlanta Constitution, Augusta Chronicle, Nashville Banner And Savannah Morning News.
Butt was a popular figure in DC social circles and made numerous important acquaintances during his time in the capital. When former Senator Matt Ransom was appointed United States Ambassador to Mexico in August 1895, he asked Butt to be First Secretary of the embassy. Butt wrote several articles for American magazines and published several novels while in Mexico. He returned to the United States in 1897 after Ransom's term, when the ambassador ended.
Military service
On January 2, 1900, Butt was commissioned as a captain in the United States Volunteers (an all-volunteer group that was not part of the regular United States Army, but was under the control of the regular army). He had long admired the military, and no one in his immediate family was serving in the military at the time the Spanish-American War broke out. Although Butt's writing career took off, his family's long connection with the military and his desire to represent his family in the military during the war led him to enlist. US Army Adjutant General Henry Clarke Corbin was influential in encouraging him to enlist.
Butt was appointed as an assistant quartermaster (ie supply officer). He was ordered to board a transport ship Sumner through the Suez Canal and continue to the Philippines. But he was eager to enter the war and secured a change in orders that sent him from San Francisco, California, on board USS Dorothea Dix. Butt's new orders required him to stop in Hawaii with his cargo of 500 mules. But he found the price of feed and stables so high and quarters for the animals so insufficient that he disobeyed the orders and advanced to the Philippines. Although this risked the lives of his animals (and a possible court martial), none of the mules died along the way, and Butt was praised for his initiative. Butt remained in the Philippines until 1904, writing numerous treatises on animal care in the tropics and on military transportation and logistics. His reports won him considerable praise from military officials.
On June 30, 1901 Butt was discharged from the Volunteers and received a commission as captain in Regular Army, retroactive to February 2, 1901.
Butt's social activities continued while he was in the Philippines. He was a minister ground forces and the Marine Club, and had a major role in the founding of the Carabao Military Order (a mocking sham of military fraternal organizations that is still in existence as of 2012).
In 1904, Butt was ordered to return to Washington, D.C., where he was appointed Quartermaster Depot. He was the lowest ranking officer ever to occupy this important position within the Quartermaster Corps. In 1906, when the revolution against Tomas Estrada Palma broke out in Cuba, Butt was hastily tasked with leading US Army logistics operations there. At just two days' notice he established a well-organized supply base. It was called the Havana Quartermaster Warehouse.
Service for two presidents
Butt was recalled to Washington in March 1908. President Theodore Roosevelt asked him to serve as his military aide in April 1908—just a month after Butt's return to the United States. There were several reasons why Roosevelt chose Butt. Among them were that Roosevelt became familiar with Butt's organizational skills in the Philippines and was impressed by his hard work and care. Another was that Taft recommended Butt, whom he knew well from their time together abroad.
Butt became one of Roosevelt's closest companions. Although Butt was robust, he and Roosevelt were constantly on the move, climbing, hiking, horseback riding, running, swimming and playing tennis. Butt also quickly organized the chaotic White House receptions, transforming them from attrition, hours-long events fraught with social gaffes into efficient, organized events.
When William Howard Taft became president in March 1909, he asked Butt to remain as a military aide. Butt continued to serve as a social functionary for Taft, but he also proved to have strong negotiation skills and a good head for numbers, which allowed him to become actual head of the Taft delegation on issues federal budget. Butt accompanied President Taft when he threw out the first ball in the first home game of the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball in 1910 and 1911. (Butt died at sea shortly before the first game in 1912 and Taft, according to Washington Post, was overcome, and "could not attend for obvious reasons.")
By 1912, Taft's first term was ending. Roosevelt, who had fallen out with Taft, was known to be considering running for the presidency against him. Close to both men and fiercely loyal, Butt began to suffer from depression and exhaustion. Housemate and butt friend Francis Davis Millais (himself one of Taft's circle) asked Taft to give him a leave of absence to recuperate before the presidential primary began. Taft agreed and ordered Butt to go on vacation. Butt was not on any official business, but anti-Catholic newspapers and politicians accused Butt of being on a secret mission to win the support of Pope Pius X in the upcoming elections. Butt did intend to meet Pius, and he carried with him a personal letter from Taft. But the letter was simply grateful that the Pope had elevated three Americans to the rank of cardinal and asked what social protocol was for welcoming them to functions.
Demotion Titanic and death
Butt left on a six-week holiday to Europe on 1 March 1912, accompanied by Millet. Butt the ordered passage on RMS Titanic for his return to the United States. He sat down on Titanic in Southampton, United Kingdom, 10 April 1912; his partner Millet boarded the ship at Cherbourg, France, later that same day. Butt was playing cards on the night of April 14 in a first-class smoking room when Titanic hit the iceberg. The ship sank two and a half hours later with the loss of more than 1,500 lives.
Butt's activities while the ship sank are largely unverified, but many accounts of a typically sensational nature were published by newspapers after the disaster. One account had the ship's captain, Edward J. Smith, telling Butt that the ship was doomed, after which Butt began acting as the ship's officer and supervised the loading and lowering of rescue boats. New York Times also claimed that Torets herded women and children into rescue boats. Another account said Butt, gun in his hand, prevented terrified male passengers from storming the rescue boats. Another version of events said Butt yanked a man out of one of the rescue boats so that the woman could stop. In this story, Butt declared, "Sorry, women will be attended to first, or I'll break every damn bone in your body!" One account talks about Butt preventing desperate third class passengers from rushing into the first class areas in a desperate attempt to escape the sinking ship. Book The sinking of the Titanic Walter Lord disagrees with claims that Butt acted as an official. Lord says Butt most likely calmly watched the evacuation of the ship. Many newspapers repeated the story supposedly told by Marie Young. This story says that Butt helped her into Lifeboat No. 8, tucked a blanket over her and said, “Goodbye, Miss Young. Good luck with you. Will you kindly remember me to all the people back home?" Young later wrote to President Taft denying that she had ever told such a story.
Even Butt's final moments remain controversial. Dr. Washington Dodge says he saw the position of John Jacob Astor and Butt near the bridge as the ship sank. (Dodge's account is very unlikely, as his rescue boat was more than a long way from the ship at the time it sank.) Other witnesses say they saw him standing calmly on the deck or standing side by side with Astor waving goodbye . Several accounts had Butt returning to the smoking room, where he stood quietly or resumed his card game. But these accounts have been disputed by author John Macstone-Graham.
Butt died on Titanic; his body never recovered.
Funerals, memorials and papers
On May 2, 1912, a memorial service was held at Butt's family home with 1,500 mourners, including President Taft, attending. Taft spoke in service, saying:
At the second ceremony, held in Washington, D.C., on May 5, Taft broke down and cried, bringing his eulogy to an abrupt end.
Memorials
Over the years, several memorials to Butt have been created. The cenotaph was erected in the summer of 1913 in Section 3 of Arlington National Cemetery. Butt himself had chosen the spot earlier. In October 1913, the Butt Millet Memorial Fountain, named for Archibald Butt and Francis Millais, was dedicated near the White House on the Ellipse. In Augusta, Georgia, the Butte Memorial Bridge was dedicated in 1914 by Taft. Washington National Cathedral contains a large plaque dedicated to Major Archibald Butt; it can be found on the wall in the museum store.
A government supply boat made of concrete was also named after Butt. It was one of nine experimental crafts (all named for deceased members of the Quartermaster Corps) built by Newport Shipbuilding Corporation in 1920 in New Bern, North Carolina. It was sold to an aquarium in Miami, Florida in 1934 and was later sunk or sunk in Biscayne Bay.
Papers
During his time serving Roosevelt and Taft, Butt wrote almost daily letters to his sister Clara. These letters are a key source of information about the more private events of the two presidencies and provide insight into the respective characters of Roosevelt and Taft. Donald E. Wilkes, Jr., professor of law at the University of Georgia School of Law, concluded, "All definitive biographies of Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft necessarily rely on information in Archie's letters." These letters (which overlap several) were published twice. The first collection was released in 1924, Letters from Archie Butt, Personal Assistant to President Roosevelt. Second set of letters Taft and Roosevelt: Intimate Letters from Archie Butt, War Aide, were published in two volumes in 1930 after Taft's death.
Personal life
Butt lived in a large mansion at 2000 G Street Northwest with painter Francis Davis Millais. "Mille, my artist friend who lives with me," was Butt's designation for his companion. They were known for throwing spartan but large parties that were attended by members of Congress, Supreme Court justices and President Taft himself.
A wide range of reasons have been given why Butt never seemed interested in women. Chief among them was that Butt loved his own mother so much that there was little room for anyone else. Even Taft thought this explanation was correct. At the time of Butt's death, rumors circulated that he was about to lose his lifetime bachelor's status. News reports said he had an underage mistress who was either carrying their unborn child or who had already given birth to the child, or that Butt was engaged to a Colorado woman. None of these rumors were true.
During his adult life, Archie shared his quarters with by different people. While he had Frank Millet as a housemate, he also had as many as three additional person, dividing its quarters. This was a common practice to cut costs. Moreover, not only did Frank Millet's affair with Stobbard end many years before he met Archie, he also married and fathered four children. He was very devoted to his wife Lilly and roomy with Archie when he had to be in Washington, where he had a studio.
Millet's body was recovered from the demotion and was buried in Bridgewater, Massachusetts.
Sexuality
Some speculation exists that Butt was homosexual. Historian Carl Sferrazza Anthony wrote that Taft's explanation only "vaguely addressed" Butt of the real reason did not marry. Davenport-Hines, however, believes that Butt and Millet were homosexual lovers. In 2012 he wrote:
Historian James Gifford tentatively agrees. He points out that there is clear written evidence that Millais had at least one homosexual affair earlier in his life (with the American writer Charles Warren Stobbard). But any conclusion, Gifford says, must remain provisional: From time to time. In this novel, Butt is sent to Europe by President Taft and former President Roosevelt to prevent the First world war. In Europe he apparently forces the necessary guarantees to make a European war impossible. However, even when informed of the impending sinking of the ship by this time, the traveling protagonist refuses to save himself and his mission when women and children die. His mission fails with his death.
1998 novel by James Walker Murder on the Titanic, includes Butt as a minor character.
Michael Bockman's 2012 novel, "The Colossal Plan", features Archibald Butt as the main character in the historical novel involving the leading industrialists and banking magnates of the day and their plan to establish an illegal national commercial monopoly that would lead to massive power and political influence for a few super-rich men.
Butt appears in the 2014 novel The Great Abraham Lincoln Pocket Clock Conspiracy, where he is depicted as President Taft's closest friend, and a companion aboard the fictitious presidential airship Airship One, which Butt pilots. The book uses period newspaper articles to report Butt's promotion from Captain to Chief and even uses his letters to his sister Clara. Butt plays a major role in the story and is listed as one of its four main characters on the book's website. His death is depicted as the highest showdown between the United States and King Leopold II of Belgium aboard the Titanic.
Bibliography
- Abbott, Lawrence F. "Introduction." In Butt, Archibald Willingham. Letters from Archie Butt, Personal Assistant to President Roosevelt. Lawrence F. Abbott, Garden City editor, New York: Doubleday, 1924.
- Anthony, Carl Sferrazza. Nellie Taft: The Unconventional First Lady of the Ragtime Era. New York: Harper Perennial, 2006.
- "Archibald W. Butt." (No author given.) In Butt, Archibald W. Both Sides of the Shield.
- Barczewski, Stephanie. Titanic: a night remembered. London: Hambledon Continuum, 2006.
- Boyd, William K. "Introduction". in Boggs, William R. War memories of General Wm. R. Boggs, K.S.A. Durham, North Carolina: Simena printing house, 1913.
- Bromley, Michael L. William Howard Taft and the first automobile presidency, 1909-1913. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 2003.
- "Butt, Archibald Willingham Degraffenreid." IN Encyclopedias of Louisville. John E. Kleber, editor Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 2001.
- Caplan, Bruce M. The sinking of the Titanic. Seattle: Hara Publishing, 1997.
- Garrison, Webb B. Treasury of colossal stories. Nashville, TN: Rutledge Hill Press, 1998.
- Gould, Lewis L. American First Ladies: Their Lives and Their Legacies. Florence, KY: Taylor & Francis, 2001.
- Earl, Henry Franklin. The Presidents: A Background History. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2002.
- Hines, Stephen W. Titanic: one newspaper, seven days and the truth that shocked the world. Naperville, IL: Compiled Books, 2011.
- Knight, Lucien Lamar. Standard History of Georgia and Georgia. Chicago: Lewis Pub. Co., 1917.
- Lord, Walter. The sinking of the Titanic. New York: Stunted Books, 1955. ISBN 0-553-27827-4
- Lynch me, Don. Titanic: An Illustrated History. New York: Hyperion, 1993.
- Macfarland, Henry B.F. District of Columbia: Brief Biographies of Its Famous and Representatives modern citizens and valuable statistics. Washington, DC: Potomac Press, 1909.
- Matthews, John. Complete the American Armory and Blue Book: Combining the 1903, 1907 and 1911-23 issues. Baltimore, MD: Clearfield Co., 1995.
- Macstone-Graham, John. A colossal tragedy: a new look at the lost liner. New York: V.V. Norton, 2012.
- McDaniel, Gene M. North Augusta: The Dream of James W. Jackson. Charleston, SC: Arcadia, 2005.
- Morris, Edmund. Theodore Rex. New York: Modern Library, 2001.
- Mowbray, Jay Henry. The sinking of the Titanic: eyewitness accounts. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications, 1998.
- O'Toole, Patricia. When the trumpets ring: Theodore Roosevelt after the White House. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2006.
- Peters, James Edward. Arlington National Cemetery: A Shrine to America's Heroes. Meetinghouse, Maryland: Woodbine Cigarette House, 2000.
- Roth, Russell. Dirty Glory: America's Indian Wars in the Philippines, 1899-1935. West Hanover, MA: Christopher Pub. House, 1981.
- Schemmel, William. Georgia Curiosity: Quirky signs, roadside oddities & other original material. Guilford, CT: Globe Pequot Press, 2011.
- Smith, Elsdon cabbage. The history of our names. Detroit: Storm Study, 1970.
- Spignesi, Stephen J. Titanic for layouts. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2012.
- Taft, William Howard. "Preface". At the end, Archibald W. Both sides of the shield. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Co., 1912.
- Watterson, John Sale. Games Presidents Play: Sports and the Presidency. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006.
External links
- Major Archibald Butt writes a travel agent's day before boarding the Titanic
- Archibald W. End papers. Georgia Department of Archives and History.
- Eulogy for Major Archibald Butt, written by the President William Howard Taft Shapell Manuscript Foundation
- "Letters about Butt by Archibald Willingham, 1908-1912". Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library. Emory University.
Before becoming Roosevelt's aide, Butt began his career in journalism and served in the Spanish–American War. Died in the sinking of the Titanic.
| Archibald Butt | |
|---|---|
| Archibald Butt | |
| Birth name | Archibald Willingham Butt |
| Date of birth | September 26(1865-09-26 ) |
| Place of birth | Augusta (Georgia, USA) |
| Date of death | April 15(1912-04-15 ) (46 years old) |
| Place of death | Atlantic Ocean, Titanic liner |
| Citizenship | USA USA |
| Occupation | Military assistant to Presidents Roosevelt and Taft |
| Education |
|
| Media files on Wikimedia Commons | |
Biography
Archibald Willingham Butt was born in Augusta, Georgia, to Josh Willingham Butt and Pamela Robertson Boggs. He was the nephew of General William Robertson Boggs, who served in the Confederate States Army. The Butt family was prominent in Augusta, but suffered financially during the American Civil War. When Archibald was 14 years old, his father died and he had to go to work to support his mother, sister and younger brother. Thanks to contributions from the church's pastor and his mother, who took a job there as a librarian, Archibald was able to go to study at Southern University in Sewanee, Tennessee, from which he graduated in 1888. As a student, Butt was a member of the Delta Tau Delta club. Butt began his journalism career working for The Courier-Journal and later became a Washington reporter for the Southern newspapers The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Nashville Banner. Although Butt worked in Washington, he was the first secretary of the U.S. Embassy in Mexico under former Senator Mette Ransom.
Military service
By 1912, as Taft's first term was ending, Butt's health began to decline. His friend, the painter Francis Davis Millett, asked President Taft to give Butt a leave of absence to recover before the presidential election. Taft agreed and ordered Archibald to go on leave.
While serving under two presidents, Butt wrote letters to his fiancée Clara in Augusta. These letters are valued by modern scholars as a major source of information about the private lives of the two presidents, as well as an invaluable contribution to understanding the characters of Roosevelt and Taft.
Accompanying President Taft as he threw a baseball
On board the Titanic
In the early spring of 1912, Butt's health deteriorated. President Taft gave him a six-week vacation to Europe. Butt also had to personally deliver the message to Pope Pius X. He was accompanied on leave by Francis Davis Millett. On April 10, 1912, Butt boarded the Titanic to return to the United States; Millett boarded the ship at Cherbourg the same day. On the night of 14–15 April, when the Titanic struck the iceberg, Butt was playing cards in the 1st class smoking lounge. The ship sank at 2:20 am.
Butt's actions that night are not precisely known. According to some reports, Captain Edward John Smith told him that the ship was doomed and there were not enough boats. Butt immediately began acting as another officer, helping women and children. One officer said that the major helped desperate women onto the deck. Walter Lord, in A Night to Remember, disagreed that Butt acted like official, claiming that he was simply overseeing the evacuation
Archibald Butt
All photos: http://gallery.ru/watch?a=x46-icHV
"The Daily": TO When the Titanic sank, Major General Archibald Butt (military adviser to President William Howard Taft and former aide-de-camp to Theodore Roosevelt) became one of the heroes of this tragic event.
During the hours of the disaster on the night of April 14–15, 1912, Butt fully lived up to the standard of manly behavior, escorting women from their cabins to the lifeboats and selflessly helping them survive in the face of death.
One of the rescued women, whom he knew from the days when she gave music lessons to the Roosevelt children in the White House, later said that after he helped her into the lifeboat, Butt covered her with a blanket with such calm care as if if she was going to ride in an open car.
William Taft cried when confirmation was received that Butt had died in the icy expanses of the Atlantic Ocean. Many in Washington were truly saddened. According to one reporter, "The name Major General Archie Batta, once synonymous with gaiety and jokes, has now become a symbol of heroism; we repeat it with tears in our eyes..."
Since 1912, biographers have portrayed Butt as a typical Southerner and officer. They did not notice, or tried not to notice, his love story - with the participation of another person, Frank Millet...
Butt was born in Augusta, Georgia, in 1865, shortly after the Confederate surrender during the Civil War. He graduated from the University of Tennessee. He was a Washington correspondent for the Southern Gazette and fought abroad against Spanish influence in Cuba and against rebels in the Philippines. And his portrait of this time is impressive with his spurs, hat feathers and ceremonial suit.
During his years of service as a presidential adviser, Butt proved his professionalism to both Roosevelt and Taft. He loved to be helpful, popular and funny. He had a heightened sense of duty. The advice and measures he proposed to the White House usually led to excellent results.
He deliberately gave in to Taft while playing golf, which he was obsessed with, in those moments when Taft was depressed about something, laughed at his boring jokes about jurisprudence, ate fatty foods that the plump Taft adored ( fried chicken, corn and melon for breakfast, fish soup, pickles in mustard, baked beans, rye bread for lunch), saved the self-esteem of eminent politicians who visited Taft, who did not know how to properly eat artichokes or cucumbers, and reassured Taft when street the boys shouted to him: “Hello, fat man!”
During this time, Butt lived in his home in an old-fashioned section of Washington, D.C., with Millet, who was his lover and devoted partner.
Frank Millet was born in Mattapoisett, Massachusetts in 1846, and as a youth he served as a drummer and then as an assistant military surgeon during the Civil War. After a distinguished career at Harvard, Millet became an international war correspondent before pursuing a career as an artist in civilian life.
His friend, the writer Henry James, recalled Mill as “magnificent, all masculinity... radiating beautiful courage.”
Millet's photographs give us the image of a handsome gentleman with an air of unshakable calm, without rage or bravado.
“Mille, my friend and artist who lives with me,” Butt called his friend. Their only known disagreement was over Millet's choice of home decoration. Butt complained that the wallpaper, full of bright red and pink flowers, he feels dizzy.
Their Washington home was truly welcoming. “People come here early to stay until the end, and the house is cheerful while they stay,” wrote Butt.
For example, for a New Year's Eve party attended by President Taft, Cabinet members, ambassadors, generals, Supreme Court justices, and a "crowd of young hipsters" - one day there were 11 gallons of eggnog whipped by the host's Filipino housekeepers, hot buttered biscuits and ham served to the table by his black maid.
The resident of this house was also a young man named Archie Clarke Kerr, a frisky, mischievous diplomat from the British Embassy. Kerr was born in Australia but was incredibly proud of his Scottish heritage. He, of course, did not forget to open Butt's eyes to the Scots' hostility to underwear: "Did you know that the kilt is worn on the naked body?" “I never knew this until Archie Kerr, who moved in with me,” admitted Butt.
Thirty-five years later, Kerr (now Lord Inverchapel) returned to Washington as British Ambassador and caused a stir among the bigoted US security officials when he decided to travel to Eagle Grove, Iowa, striking up a relationship with a young farmer he found waiting bus in Washington.
Those around them watched with interest as Millais and Butt set off together for Italy in March 1912 on board the steamship Berlin. Their impressive costumes were hard to miss. Butt wore bright, copper-colored trousers and a Norfolk jacket with many ball-shaped red porcelain buttons, a lavender tie, high winged collar, a wide-brimmed hat, patent leather shoes with white tops, a bouquet of lilies in his buttonhole, and a cambric handkerchief hidden in his left sleeve.
Both also returned home to America together. They had separate cabins on the Titanic, mainly because of the large luggage: Butt boarded in Southampton, England with seven trunks of clothes and various purchases.
...After the last lifeboat was lowered from the sinking ship, and the liner tilted and was ready to disappear to the ocean floor, Butt was seen standing on the rear deck. Millet was not a famous or recognizable person, so no one noticed him nearby. But it is unthinkable to even imagine that he would not remain with Butt to the end.
In light of catastrophes or natural disasters that made headlines, reporters were always inclined to choose tragic stories involving separated families... But gay stories often did not find their storyteller.
The faithful union of Butt and Millet became a typical "don't ask, don't tell" story. Washington historians have tried not to pay too much attention to the relationship between the two men, but at the same time, they recognized their mutual affection.
They remained together forever - in death, as in life...
The memorial fountain installed on the site of the Presidential Park in Washington is called the Batta Mille Fountain.
The dead passengers included Butt and his lover, Frank Millet.
Many thanks to friends: Viktor Solkin ( victorsolkin ) for the link to this material, and tomindar for help with translation. :)
Titanic is one of the largest and most luxurious liners of its time. At the time of the crash there were many wealthy and influential people on board.
Benjamin Guggenheim- American industrialist, heir to mining magnate Meyer Guggenheim.
Having started his career in the family business, Benjamin Guggenheim focused on a new direction - smelting, which significantly expanded the scope of interests of his father's company and increased income.
By 1903, Guggenheim had opened several factories in the United States, but his most successful project was a mining equipment plant in Milwaukee. In 1906, the plant was purchased by a large pumping company International Steam Pump Company, which had factories in America and England. In 1909, Guggenheim became head of the International Steam Pump Company.
During the sinking of the Titanic, Benjamin Guggenheim helped women and children into lifeboats. When asked to save himself, he replied: “We are dressed in our best clothes and are ready to die like gentlemen.”
Benjamin Guggenheim died at the age of 46, his body was never found.
Colonel John Jacob Astor IV- American millionaire and inventor, author of the futuristic novel “Journey to Other Worlds” (1894), participant in the Spanish-American War.
The heir to the Astor family, which made a fortune in the fur trade, John Jacob expanded the family business and in 1897 built the luxurious Astoria Hotel in New York (USA), which, together with the hotel of his cousin William Waldorf Astor, became part of the hotel complex Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Astor's other achievements include the invention of bicycle brakes and participation in the development of the gas turbine engine.
He died during the sinking of the Titanic, just shy of 48 years old.
Dorothy Gibson- American film actress.
In 1909, she was one of the favorite models of illustrator Harrison Fisher; her images adorned magazine covers, postcards, and packaging for various products. She starred in a number of films, including the role of American Revolutionary War heroine Molly Pitcher in the film Hands Across the Sea (1911).
Dorothy Gibson survived the sinking of the Titanic. Soon after the tragedy, she starred in the film “Survivors of the Titanic,” where she played herself.
She died in 1946.
Isidor Straus- American businessman and philanthropist of German origin, member of the US Congress.
In 1874, he headed the glass and porcelain sales department of R.H. Macy & Co., and in 1888 he became a partner in the company. Under his leadership, the Macy's department store chain became one of the largest in the United States.
Strauss took an active part in the re-election campaign of US President Stephen Grover Cleveland and was the chairman of many philanthropic and charitable organizations in New York (USA).
Died in the sinking of the Titanic at the age of 67 along with his wife Ida. His body was found by one of the search ships; his wife's body was never found.
The Strauss are depicted in scenes of the sinking of the liner in the 1958 film The Sinking of the Titanic.
Lucy Christiana Duff Gordon- British fashion designer, known under the pseudonym "Lucille".
Left without funds in 1888 after a divorce from her first husband, Lucy Christiana started her own tailoring business. In 1894 she rented workroom in London. Her dresses became increasingly popular due to their strong personality. By 1900, a company called Maison Lucile had become one of the largest fashion houses in London. Her clients included the writer and activist Margot Asquith and the Duchess of York (later Queen Mary). In 1910, Lucille opened a branch of her fashion house in New York (USA), in 1912 - in Paris (France), and in 1915 - in Chicago (USA).
Survived the sinking of the Titanic. She died in 1935 from pneumonia.
Major Archibald Willingham Butt- An influential military assistant to US Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft. Worked as a reporter in Washington (USA) for several newspapers. He began his military career during the Spanish-American War.
While serving in the Philippine Islands, Butt wrote several articles on military topics, one of which attracted the attention of US President Theodore Roosevelt. Upon returning from the Philippines, Butt was sent to Cuba, where he had an excellent career. In 1908 he became personal military assistant to President Roosevelt, and in 1909 to Taft.
In 1912, Butt was returning on the Titanic from Rome (Italy), where, as the personal envoy of US President William Howard Taft, he negotiated with the Pope. Killed in a crash at age 51; body never found.
Margaret "Molly" Brown- American activist, fighter for the rights of women and children, one of the first women in the United States to run for the Senate long before women received the right to vote.
Margaret Brown was a prominent public figure, participated in feminist movements, worked to create a juvenile justice system in the United States, and helped raise money for the construction of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Denver (Colorado).
During the sinking of the Titanic, she helped save other passengers, and then organized the Titanic Survivors Fund.
During the First World War she worked in France as part of the American Committee for the Reconstruction of the Country. In 1932, Brown was awarded the Legion of Honor for her work in France during the war, for helping Titanic survivors, and for her social work in America.
She died in 1932.
William Thomas Stead- famous British journalist, pacifist, pioneer of "new journalism". Under his leadership, the Pall Mall Gazette newspaper has become an innovative publication actively influencing social and political processes in the country. After the publication of his article “The Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon,” dedicated to the fight against child prostitution, the journalist was subject to criminal prosecution, and legislators raised the age of consent to 16 years.
Steed was an active peace activist: in 1898 he began publishing the weekly War Against War, promoted the principle of "peace through arbitration", opposed the Boer War, participated in the Hague Conference and advocated the adoption of its recommendations.
Died in the sinking of the Titanic at the age of 62, his body was never found.
It is noteworthy that in 1886 Steed published the article “How the Mail Steamer Went Down in the Mid-Atlantic, by a Survivor,” in which a large number of people die when the ship sank due to for an insufficient number of lifeboats.
Francis Davis Millet- American artist, journalist, one of the founders of the American Federation of Arts, member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He began his journalistic career as a reporter, then became editor of a Boston newspaper. Worked as a correspondent during Russian-Turkish war, where his bravery and assistance to the wounded were noted by the governments of Russia and Romania. Translated "Sevastopol Stories" by Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy.
Even after deciding to devote himself to art and graduating with honors from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp (Belgium), he continued to maintain contact with American and English newspapers, where he periodically sent essays about his travels.
Millett decorated the customs building in Baltimore (USA), Trinity Church in Boston (USA), the Capitol in Wisconsin (USA) and Minnesota (USA). His paintings are kept in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (USA) and the Tate Gallery in London (UK).
Died in the sinking of the Titanic at the age of 65. The body was discovered by a rescue vessel.
Nothing in this life lasts forever. Happy people are confident that this will always be the case. But they cannot know what awaits them tomorrow. Who knows, maybe sweet ignorance is much better than the bitter truth? Fortunately, there are individuals who strive to take everything from life. They are not content with little and try to change the world to the best of their ability. Today we are talking about the sinking of the Titanic and remembering the death outstanding people, whose power could become limitless. However, their lives were cut short.
What needs to be achieved so that the President of the United States of America not only leaves an obituary after the death of a person, but also calls him his younger brother? As soon as President Taft learned of the sinking of the Titanic, he did not look for his old friend among the survivors. The head of the country was confident that Major Archibald Butt acted in the crash as an official, helping to save women and children. Our first hero previously served as personal assistant to President Theodore Roosevelt, but remained in office after the election of William Howard Taft.
At the beginning of 1912, the military man's health began to deteriorate and he decided to spend several weeks in Europe. Returning home for Major Archibald Butt was fatal. He was on that ill-fated liner, and, according to eyewitnesses, last time he was seen with Francis Millet in the smoking room. When it became clear that disaster could not be avoided, Butt began helping passengers evacuate into lifeboats, and addressed one of his colleagues with the famous phrase: “First the women are saved, or I will break every bone in your body.” His body was not found.
Benjamin Guggenheim
This was one of the offspring of the mining magnate Mayer Guggenheim. The Swiss immigrant bought his first two copper mines in Colorado in 1880 and built his mining empire from the ground up. Benjamin was the fifth son, so he did not inherit his father's business, but he received most of his capital. However, he used it wisely, investing money in a company that services elevators on Eiffel Tower. The entrepreneur was married, but was passionate about France and everything connected with it. For most of his adult life, he lived in two houses, so he often traveled across the ocean.
The story of his last journey is a classic case of absurd coincidences leading to tragedy. Initially, he was supposed to travel home on the liner Lusitania, while his ship Carmania needed repairs. It was as if he had a presentiment that he had to become part of history, and boarded the Titanic. Although his famous phrase to his valet certainly immortalized him. Legend has it that after the gentlemen helped the ladies with the evacuation, they put on tailcoats and, leisurely sipping whiskey, began to await their own death. When people around them suggested that they leave the ship, Guggenheim retorted: “We are dressed in our best suits and will die like gentlemen.” The body of the 46-year-old businessman was not found. He was famous for his generous donations to charity and the development of museums.
Daniel Warner Marvin
When this young man boarded the Titanic, he was only 18 years old. There is no doubt that he could have written his name in history in a different way. He chose the career of engineer, according to family tradition. Marvin's father was one of the founders of the American company Mutoscope and Biograph. According to various sources, Marvin Sr. fought with Thomas Edison for a patent to create a kinetograph designed to record moving objects on film. Subsequently, the Marvin family developed another movie camera that made it possible to circumvent patent restrictions.
One of the first films of the new film studio was a recording of the wedding of young Daniel. The three-week honeymoon was coming to an end, and the newlyweds were returning from a trip aboard the Titanic. Our hero put his pregnant wife into a lifeboat and said: “Everything is fine, my little girl. You go, and I’ll stay.” His daughter was born a few months later, and the footage from the wedding was destroyed by the inconsolable widow. The Marvin family company is still thriving, but is now known as Biograph.
Isidore and Ida Strauss
When you hear about such cases, you believe in the best, in life after death, in true love and self-sacrifice. The couple was incredibly rich, but did not spare money for charity. They knew what it was like to be poor, come to an unfamiliar country from Europe and try to raise their own business. In America they encountered civil war and bankruptcy. They gradually paid off their debts and moved to New York, where Isidore found work and subsequently became a congressman.
He rose to become the owner of the company, and his subordinates were moved to tears after his death. He felt responsible for the well-being of people and always showed genuine interest in their lives. Isidor Strauss organized a mutual aid society for workers. At the time of the sinking, Ida had a place on the lifeboat, but refused to leave her husband. The woman put the maid on the boat, giving her coat as a parting gift. Her body, unlike that of her husband, was not found. When Isidore was buried, it seemed that the whole city came out for the funeral service.
William Thomas Stead
The story goes that little William mastered reading Latin at the age of five. He was the son of a British minister and received an excellent education. Having become a journalist, Stead devoted a lot of time to public activities and conducted investigations alone. He promoted morality through London newspapers and became the founder of the movement against child prostitution. He believed that journalism could change the world for the better. Stead advocated social reforms, the formation of an alternative people's government. His work was so large-scale that in 1912 the prominent social activist was nominated for Nobel Prize peace. When the Titanic sank, William Thomas Stead's body was not found. We do not know what scenario the development of society might have followed if the journalist had not boarded the ill-fated liner.
John Jacob Astor IV
This man was the scandalous and controversial heir of the Astor family. The Waldorf-Astoria hotel complex is not the only achievement of our next hero. His great-grandfather created a monopoly on the fur trade and provided for his heirs not only profitable business, but also the title of the richest people in America. However, John Jacob Astor's interests extended far beyond business. A futuristic novel came from his pen, and his talent as an engineer helped him invent a bicycle brake and a pneumatic track. He served in the Spanish-American War and rose to the rank of colonel, and also tried his hand at motorsports.
The scandal occurred when Astor divorced his first wife and became involved with a woman who was younger than his own son. The millionaire was criticized by the media, and he decided to temporarily hide from the attention of the press in Europe. Astor and his young pregnant wife were returning home aboard the Titanic. Madeleine survived and gave birth to a son, whom she named John Jacob. The millionaire's body was lifted from the bottom on April 22 and buried in New York.
