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

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

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

Biography

Seward was born on March 23, 1878, in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

, 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 physician. He graduated from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1899 and was a member of its Glee Club. 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 law school in Tribeca, New York City. NYLS has a full-time day program and a part-time evening program. NYLS's faculty includes 54 full-time and 59 adjunct professors. Notable faculty members include E ...

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 (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

George Gustav Heye George Gustav Heye (1874 – January 20, 1957) was an American collector of Native American artifacts in the Western Hemisphere, particularly in North America. He founded the Museum of the American Indian, and his collection became the core of ...

's Museum of the American Indian starting in 1916. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

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, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...

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 a pioneering American silent film actress, artist's model, and singer active in the early 20th century. She is best remembered as a survivor of the sinking o ...

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, RNR (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 hund ...

of RMS ''Carpathia'' and his crew.

References

File:FKSeward-Titanic-NYT041212.jpg, Notice of missing persons, April 16, 1912 File:Original_Board_of_Trustees_of_the_Museum_of_the_American_Indian,_Heye_Foundation._(ca._1920).jpg, Board of Trustees of the

Heye Foundation George Gustav Heye (1874 – January 20, 1957) was an American collector of Native American artifacts in the Western Hemisphere, particularly in North America. He founded the Museum of the American Indian, and his collection became the core of ...

in 1920, from left to right are: Minor C. Keith, James Bishop Ford,

, Frederick Kimber Seward, F. Kingsbury Curtis, Samuel Riber, Jr., Archer Milton Huntington, and Harmon Washington Hendricks {{DEFAULTSORT:Seward, Frederick 1878 births 1943 deaths New York (state) lawyers People from Wilmington, Delaware RMS Titanic survivors Columbia College (New York) alumni