Harry Elkins Widener (January 3, 1885 – April 15, 1912) was an American businessman and bibliophile, and a member of the
Widener family
The Widener family is an American family from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded by Peter Arrell Browne Widener (1834–1915) and his wife, Hannah Josephine Dunton (1836–1896), it was once one of the wealthiest families in the United ...
. His mother built
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...
's
Widener Memorial Library
The Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library, housing some 3.5million books in its "vast and cavernous" stacks, is the centerpiece of the Harvard College Libraries (the libraries of Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences) and, more broadly, of the ...
in his memory, after his death on the foundering of the ''
RMS Titanic
RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger Ocean liner, liner, operated by the White Star Line, which Sinking of the Titanic, sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton ...
''.
Biography
Born in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
, Widener was the son of
George Dunton Widener
George Dunton Widener (June 16, 1861 – April 15, 1912) was an American businessman who died in the sinking of the RMS ''Titanic''.
Early life
Widener was born in Philadelphia on June 16, 1861. He was the eldest son of Hannah Josephine Du ...
(1861–1912) and
Eleanor Elkins Widener
Eleanor Elkins Widener ( Elkins, later known as Eleanor Elkins Widener Rice or Mrs. Alexander Hamilton Rice; 1937) was an American heiress, socialite, philanthropist, and adventuress best remembered for her donation to Harvard University of th ...
, and the grandson of entrepreneur
Peter A. B. Widener (1834–1915). He attended
The Hill School
The Hill School (commonly known as The Hill) is a coeducational preparatory boarding school located on a campus in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, about northwest of Philadelphia. The Hill is part of the Ten Schools Admissions Organization (TSAO). ...
in
Pottstown, Pennsylvania
Pottstown is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Pottstown was laid out in 1752–53 and named Pottsgrove in honor of its founder, John Potts. The old name was abandoned at the time of the incorporation as a borough in 1815. In 1888 ...
, and graduated from
Harvard College
Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher ...
in 1907, where he was a member of
Hasty Pudding Theatricals
The Hasty Pudding Theatricals, known informally simply as The Pudding, is a theatrical student society at Harvard University, known for its burlesque crossdressing musicals. The Hasty Pudding is the oldest theatrical organization in the United S ...
and the
Owl Club
The Owl Club of Cape Town, South Africa (formed in 1894), is a social meeting place for all those with an interest in the arts and sciences. The monthly meetings include an evening of fellowship, fine dining, stimulating conversation, talks by ac ...
. Widener's godfather was the British banking magnate,
Charles Mills,
the 2nd Baron Hillingdon.
Along with his parents, in April 1912 Widener boarded the ''Titanic'' at
Cherbourg
Cherbourg (; , , ), nrf, Chèrbourg, ) is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche. It was merged into the commune of Cherbourg-Octeville on 28 Feb ...
, France bound for New York City.
As the ship sank Widener's mother and her maid were rescued, but Widener, his father, and his father's valet perished. In 1915, Widener's mother donated the
Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library
The Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library, housing some 3.5million books in its "vast and cavernous" stacks, is the centerpiece of the Harvard College Libraries (the libraries of Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences) and, more broadly, of the ...
to Harvard in his memory. Two buildings at the Hill School are also dedicated to Widener, and stained glass windows at St. Paul's Episcopal Church,
Elkins Park, Pennsylvania
Elkins Park is an unincorporated community in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It is split between Cheltenham and Abington Townships in the northern suburbs outside of Philadelphia, which it borders along Cheltenham Avenue roughly from C ...
are dedicated to Widener and his father.
A Harvard legend holds that in order to spare others her son's fate, Widener's mother insisted (as a condition of her gift) that future Harvard graduates be required to learn to swim. However, while Harvard indeed implemented a swimming test in the 1920s (later dropped), this had nothing to do with Widener.
[
]
Book collecting
Widener was a member of the
Grolier Club
The Grolier Club is a private club and society of bibliophiles in New York City. Founded in January 1884, it is the oldest existing bibliophilic club in North America. The club is named after Jean Grolier de Servières, Viscount d'Aguisy, Tre ...
.
Book collector and dealer
George Sidney Hellman
George may refer to:
People
* George (given name)
* George (surname)
* George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George
* George Washington, First President of the United States
* George W. Bush, 43rd President ...
, writing soon after Widener's death, commented on
Further reading
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*
*
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Widener, Harry Elkins
1885 births
1912 deaths
Businesspeople from Philadelphia
People from Cheltenham, Pennsylvania
Harvard College alumni
The Hill School alumni
Widener family
American bibliophiles
American book and manuscript collectors
Deaths on the RMS Titanic
Hasty Pudding alumni