Frederic Kimber Seward Sr. (sometimes misspelled Frederick) (March 23, 1878 – December 7, 1943) was a prominent

corporate lawyer A corporate lawyer or corporate counsel is a type of lawyer who specializes in corporate law. Corporate lawyers working inside and for corporations are called in-house counsel. Roles and responsibilities The role of a corporate lawyer is to e ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He was a passenger on the , and later chaired a survivors' committee that honored the rescue ship .

Biography

Seward was born on March 23, 1890, in White Star, Delaware, the son of Reverend Samuel Swezey Seward II (1838–1916) and Christina Frederika (Kimber) Seward (1837–1906). He had several siblings, among them a brother, John Perry Seward, a

homeopathic Homeopathy or homoeopathy is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine. It was conceived in 1796 by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann. Its practitioners, called homeopaths or homeopathic physicians, believe that a substance tha ...

physician. He graduated from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1899 and was a member of its

Glee Club A glee club is a musical group or choir group, historically of male voices but also of female or mixed voices, which traditionally specializes in the singing of short songs by trios or quartets. In the late 19th century it was very popular in ...

. He married Sara Flemington Day (1878–1932) and had three children: Frederic K. Seward, Jr. (1904–1967); Katharine Seward (1907–1982) and Samuel S. Seward III (1910–1989). He studied at

New York Law School New York Law School (NYLS) is a private, American law school in the Tribeca neighborhood in Manhattan, New York City. The third oldest law school in New York City, its history predates its official founding in 1891 by Theodore William Dwight, T ...

and in 1908, he started work at the law firm of Curtis, Mallet, Prevot & Colt in

. He served on the

Board of Trustees A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

George Gustav Heye George Gustav Heye (1874 – January 20, 1957) was an American collector of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Native American Artifact (archaeology), artifacts in the Western Hemisphere, particularly in North America. He founded the Museum of t ...

Museum of the American Indian The National Museum of the American Indian–New York, the George Gustav Heye Center, is a branch of the National Museum of the American Indian at the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House in Manhattan, New York City. The museum is part of the Sm ...

starting in 1916. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he served on

's wartime rationing board. Seward died of

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...

on December 7, 1943, in

The ''Titanic'' disaster

Seward, returning from Europe on a business trip, was on board RMS ''Titanic'' when it struck an iceberg and sank on the night of April 14, 1912. At the time of impact, he was playing cards with William T. Sloper and

Dorothy Gibson Dorothy Gibson (born Dorothy Winifred Brown; May 17, 1889 – February 17, 1946) was an American actress, socialite and artist's model, active in the early 20th century. She survived the sinking of the ''Titanic'' and starred in the first m ...

in the first class lounge. Seward survived the sinking, escaping in lifeboat 7, the first to leave the ship. Seward filed a joint lawsuit with other survivors against White Star Lines; he himself was legal counsel for a victim of the sinking, John Montgomery Smart, and worked on settling his estate. He also served as the chairman of a committee to honor the bravery of Captain

Arthur Rostron Sir Arthur Henry Rostron, KBE, RD (14 May 1869 – 4 November 1940) was a British merchant seaman and a seagoing officer for the Cunard Line. He is best known as the captain of the ocean liner RMS ''Carpathia'', when it rescued the survi ...

of RMS ''Carpathia'' and his crew.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seward, Frederick 1878 births 1943 deaths New York (state) lawyers Lawyers from Wilmington, Delaware RMS Titanic survivors Columbia College (New York) alumni 20th-century American lawyers New York Law School alumni