25 Facts About Margaret Brown

Margaret Brown, posthumously known as "The Unsinkable Molly Brown", was an American socialite and philanthropist.

Margaret Brown was a passenger on the RMS Titanic which sank in 1912 and she unsuccessfully urged the crew in Lifeboat No 6 to return to the debris field to look for survivors.

Margaret Brown Tobin is believed by scholars to have been born on July 18,1867, in a cottage near the Mississippi River in Hannibal, Missouri, on Denkler's Alley.

Margaret Brown's parents were Irish Catholic immigrants John Tobin, an abolitionist who supported the Underground Railroad, and Johanna Tobin.

Margaret Brown's siblings were Daniel Tobin, Michael Tobin, William Tobin, and Helen Tobin.

Margaret Brown had two half-sisters: Catherine Bridget Tobin, by her father's first marriage, and Mary Ann Collins, by her mother's first marriage.

At age 18, Margaret Brown relocated to Leadville, Colorado, with her siblings Daniel Tobin, Mary Ann Collins Landrigan, and Mary Ann's husband John Landrigan.

Margaret Brown was not a rich man, and she married JJ for love.

In Leadville, Margaret Brown helped by working in soup kitchens to assist miners' families.

Margaret Brown became a charter member of the Denver Woman's Club, whose mission was the improvement of women's lives by continuing education and philanthropy.

Margaret Brown co-founded a branch in Denver of the Alliance Francaise to promote her love of French culture.

Margaret Brown gave parties that were attended by Denver socialites, but she was unable to gain entry into the most elite group, Sacred 36, who attended exclusive bridge parties and dinners held by Louise Sneed Hill.

JJ was not interested in the social life that Margaret Brown enjoyed and the couple began to drift apart.

Margaret Brown received a $700 monthly allowance to continue her travels and political work.

Margaret Brown assisted in fundraising for Denver's Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, which was completed in 1911.

Margaret Brown worked with Judge Ben Lindsey to help destitute children and establish one of the United States' first juvenile courts.

Margaret Brown spent the first months of 1912 in Paris, visiting her daughter and as part of the John Jacob Astor IV party, until she received word from Denver that her eldest grandchild, Lawrence Palmer Margaret Brown Jr.

Margaret Brown immediately booked passage on the first available liner leaving for New York, the RMS Titanic.

Margaret Brown's urgings were met with opposition from Quartermaster Robert Hichens, the crewman in charge of lifeboat 6.

In 1914, six years before the Nineteenth Amendment granted women the right to vote, Brown ran for Colorado's US Senate seat, but she ended her campaign to serve abroad as the director of the American Committee for Devastated France during World War I For her work organizing female ambulance drivers, nurses, and food distributors, Brown was awarded the French Legion of Honor in 1932.

JJ Margaret Brown left vast, yet complicated, real estate, mining, and stock holdings.

Margaret Brown was buried next to JJ at St Brigid's cemetery, now known as Cemetery of the Holy Rood, in Westbury, New York, following a small ceremony on October 31,1932, attended by close friends and family.

Margaret Brown 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 the Titanic.

Margaret Brown was awarded the French Legion d'Honneur for her activities.

Theme park Disneyland Paris features a 19th-century riverboat attraction, the Molly Margaret Brown Riverboat, named after her.