Harry Elkins Widener

Harry Elkins Widener

Harry Elkins Widener (January 3, 1885 - April 15, 1912) was a businessman and book collector from the United States. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he was the son of George Dunton Widener (1861-1912) and Eleanor Elkins Widener and the grandson of the extremely wealthy entrepreneur, Peter A. B. Widener (1834-1915).

Along with his father and mother, in April 1912 Harry Elkins Widener boarded the RMS "Titanic" at Cherbourg, France bound for New York City. After the ship struck an iceberg, his father placed his mother and her maid in a lifeboat; the pair were eventually rescued by the steamship "Carpathia". Harry Elkins Widener and his father both went down with the ship. Their bodies, if recovered, were not identified. A memorial service for them was held at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania where stained glass windows were dedicated in their memory.

Widener was a graduate of Harvard University, where he was a member of the Owl Club. Its Widener Library, opened on Commencement Day 1915, is named in Harry Elkins Widener's memory and was paid for with a posthumous bequest from his widowed mother. Widener University in Chester, Pennsylvania is also named after the prominent Widener family.

A popular but unfounded urban legend states that the former requirement that Harvard students pass a swim test in order to graduate was based on his mother's stipulation in her bequest. His mother also requested that students entering the prestigious boarding school The Hill School pass a swim test. Widener is a graduate of the 1902 class. Later classes also attribute the daily availability of ice cream in the dining halls to Harry's fondness for this dessert, but this is also a false belief. [ [http://www.snopes.com/college/admin/swimtest.asp Snopes.com article on Widener urban legends.] ]

External links

* [http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/biography/317/ Encyclopedia Titanica Biography of Harry Elkins Widener]
* "Titanic: Triumph and Tragedy", by John P. Eaton and Charles A. Haas, W.W. Newton & Company, 2nd edition 1995 ISBN 0-393-03697-9
* "A Night to Remember", by Walter Lord, ed. Nathaniel Hilbreck, Owl Books, rep. 2004, ISBN 0-8050-7764-2

References


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  • Harry Widener — Harry Elkins Widener (* 3. Januar 1885 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; † 15. April 1912 im Nordatlantik) war ein US amerikanischer Buchsammler und Mitglied einer der wohlhabendsten und einflussreichsten Familien Philadelphias. Nach seinem Tod …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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  • Widener Library — Bibliothèque Widener La Widener Library en 2003. La Bibliothèque Harry Elkins Widener (Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library en anglais), communément connue comme la Bibliothèque Widener (Widener Library en anglais), est le principal édifice des… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Widener family — The American Widener family of Peter Arrell Brown Widener (1834 1915) and his wife Hannah Josephine Dunton (1836 1896) were from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and were one of the wealthiest families in the United States. In 1883 Widener was part of… …   Wikipedia

  • George Widener — George Dunton Widener (* 16. Juni 1861 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; † 15. April 1912 im Nordatlantik) war ein US amerikanischer Geschäftsmann, Bankier und Mitglied einer der wohlhabendsten und einflussreichsten Familien Philadelphias.… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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