Margaret Molly Tobin, better known as the “Unsinkable Molly Brown,” became the subject of numerous newspaper and magazine articles as well as plays and movies after she survived the Titanic disaster in 1912. She was born on July 18, 1867, into a blended Irish American family in Hannibal, Missouri. Industrious from an early age, she earned money after school by separating leaves at a local tobacco company. At the age of eighteen, she moved to Colorado with her older brother, where she ended up working in the carpet and drapery section of a Daniels & Fisher Mercantile store. There, she met James Joseph (J. J.) Brown, with whom she fell in love and married in 1886, and then birthed two children, Lawrence Palmer (1887) and Catharine Ellen (1889).
J. J. Brown was a talented mining engineer, working his way up to superintendent at the Ibex Mining Company. When he invented a method that minimized cave-ins, Ibex was able to transition its mines from silver production to gold. The company rewarded him with a 12.5 percent stake in the company. When a massive vein was discovered in 1893, at that point the richest vein in the world, Brown became fabulously wealthy. A year later, the Brown family moved to Denver and purchased a mansion in the upscale Capitol Hill neighborhood.
The Browns quickly ascended into Denver high society. Margaret was tutored in arts and letters, eventually becoming fluent in French and Italian. She was an ardent philanthropist, founding many charitable enterprises including the Denver Woman’s Club, which provided educational opportunities for promising young women and the Alliance Francaise, which promoted French language and culture. She also sponsored the construction of Denver’s Cathedral for the Immaculate Conception and St. Joseph’s Hospital. The money she put into the latter allowed it to pilot several programs, including one that became the basis for the nation’s juvenile court system. She advocated labor reform, supporting better working conditions for miners and for the families of the infamous Ludlow Massacre in April 1914.
Margaret’s greatest passion, however, was for universal suffrage. She helped found the Colorado chapter of the National American Women’s Suffrage Association and even ran for the United States Senate before women were allowed to vote. Along with Mrs. Alva Vanderbilt Belmont, Margaret organized a women’s rights conference in Newport, Rhode Island, during July 1914.
During their years in Denver, the Browns began to slowly drift apart. They separated formally in 1909, and Margaret signed a document that gave her the house in Denver and $700 per month for the rest of her life. This agreement gave her the freedom to travel to Europe and the opportunity to continue her philanthropic endeavors on a larger scale. It was on her return to the United States from an overseas trip in 1912, however, that she passed into American folklore. When she received word that one of her grandchildren was ill, Margaret booked last-minute passage on the RMS Titanic, boarding the boat in Cherbourg, France. Soon she would become one of the doomed ship’s most famous passengers.
During the chaos following the iceberg strike, Margaret helped women and children get aboard lifeboats before she finally evacuated the ship. She went aboard Lifeboat 6, which was piloted by Quartermaster Robert Hitchens. According to witnesses, she and Hitchens engaged in a spirited argument about whether they should return to look for survivors. Hitchens overruled her pleas to take on board further passengers out of fear that the throngs of desperate people in the water would swarm them and overturn the lifeboat. By the time a rescue mission was eventually mounted by the boats that had managed to get clear, only a few people remained alive. Margaret’s actions on this night would eventually earn her the nickname “Unsinkable” Molly Brown. Her actions following that fateful night were also indicative of her take-charge attitude and desire to help those in need. Before reaching New York aboard the RMS Carpathia, Margaret had begun a Survivor’s Committee and already raised $10,000 for poverty-stricken survivors who had lost loved ones. She also raised money for the Titanic memorial in Washington, D.C.
Following her experiences on the Titanic, Margaret continued to enjoy a colorful career. She ran again for the United States Senate, worked tirelessly to raise money for the education of indigent youth, and worked with military veterans in France following World War I. Following the death of her husband, Margaret became embroiled in long-term litigation with her two children over his estate. Her husband had died without a will, and it took several years to settle her inheritance. This episode drove a wedge between her and her two children, neither of whom spoke to her again until shortly before her death.
During the last two decades of her life, Margaret was a celebrity in both France and the United States. She fought for the rights of women and children, believing that increased education would lead to better economic opportunity and, eventually, equality. Besides her philanthropic and political activities, Brown also studied acting. After a period of training in Europe, she appeared on the stage in both Paris and New York. In 1932, her colorful and productive career came to an end when she died at the age of 65 from a brain tumor.
The “Unsinkable Molly” Brown, as she became known after her death, has been the subject of numerous newspaper and magazine articles, although her first biography was not published until 1999. She has also been the subject of films, plays, and musicals. Some actresses who portrayed Margaret Brown include Thelma Ritter in Titanic (1953), Cloris Leachman in Telephone Time (1957), Tucker McGuire in A Night to Remember (1958), Debbie Reynolds in The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964), Marilu Henner in Titanic (1996), and Kathy Bates in Titanic (1997). Reportedly, the Brown family has been unhappy with all of these depictions, finding that they present a sensationalized version of her personality and character, far removed from historical accuracy.
The Molly Brown House Museum in Denver continues to safeguard her legacy, focusing upon some of the philanthropic ventures that she held dear, in addition to educating youth about the past in the areas of women’s history, local history, and mining history. An endowment at the museum even provides busing subsidies for schools in less privileged school districts. The museum’s collections focus upon Brown and her interest in socially progressive issues such as gender equality. Born during an era where women were expected to be silent and demure, it was her confidence and take-charge attitude that will likely continue to be featured in popular representations of the Unsinkable Molly Brown.
Andrew Howe
See also Kate Shelley Saves the Train; Ocean-Born Mary; Women in Folklore
Further Reading
“About Molly Brown.” 2015. Molly Brown House Museum website. http://www.mollybrown.org. Accessed October 27, 2015.
Brewster, Hugh. 2012. Gilded Lives, Fatal Voyage: The Titanic’s First-Class Passengers and Their World. New York: Broadway Paperbacks.
Iversen, Kristen. 1999. Molly Brown: Unraveling the Myth: The True Life Story of the Titanic’s Most Famous Survivor. Boulder, CO: Johnson Books.
Wilson, Andrew. 2011. Shadow of the Titanic: The Extraordinary Stories of Those Who Survived. New York: Atria Paperbacks.