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 Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

on June 16, 1861. He was the eldest son of Hannah Josephine Dunton (1836–1896) and Peter Arrell Brown Widener (1834–1915), an extremely wealthy streetcar magnate.

Career

He joined his father's business and eventually took over the running of the Philadelphia Traction Company, overseeing the development of cable and electric

streetcar A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport a ...

operations. He also served on the board of directors of several important area businesses, including Philadelphia Traction Co., Land Title Bank and Trust Co., Electric Storage Battery Co., and Portland Cement Co. A patron of the arts, Widener was a director of the

Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appa ...

RMS ''Titanic''

In 1912, Widener, his wife, and their son Harry traveled to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, with original intentions to find a chef for Widener's new

hotel, The

Ritz Carlton The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC is an American multinational company that operates the luxury hotel chain known as The Ritz-Carlton. The company has 108 luxury hotels and resorts in 30 countries and territories with 29,158 rooms, in addi ...

. The Wideners booked their return passage on RMS ''Titanic''. After the ship struck an iceberg, Widener placed his wife and her maid Amalie Gieger in a lifeboat. The women were rescued by the steamship RMS ''Carpathia'', but Widener and his son Harry and their valet Edwin Keeping perished on the Titanic. The bodies of the father and son, if recovered, were not identified.

Personal life

In 1883, he married Eleanor Elkins, the daughter of his father's business partner,

William Lukens Elkins William Lukens Elkins (May 2, 1832 – November 7, 1903) was an American businessman and art collector. He began his working career as a grocer in Philadelphia and became a business tycoon with financial interests in oil, natural gas and transpor ...

. Together, they had two sons and a daughter: * Harry Elkins Widener (1885–1912), who died aboard the Titanic. * George Dunton Widener Jr. (1889–1971), who married Jessie Sloane Dodge (1883–1968) in 1917. * Eleanor Widener (1891–1966), who married Fitz Eugene Dixon on June 19, 1912. Eleanor sued Dixon for divorce in 1936. After Widener and his son's death aboard the Titanic, a memorial service was held at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in

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 Ce ...

, where stained glass windows were dedicated in their memory.

Descendants

He was the maternal grandfather of

Fitz Eugene Dixon Jr. Fitz Eugene Dixon Jr. (August 14, 1923 – August 2, 2006) was an American educator, sportsman, and philanthropist. Early life He was the son of banker Fitz Eugene Dixon Sr. and Eleanor Widener (1891-1966), a member of the wealthy Widener family ...

(1923–2006). Dixon, who lived in Philadelphia, owned the Philadelphia 76ers and was a part owner of the

Eagles Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, jus ...

, the

Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has been Citize ...

and the Flyers.

Residence

Widener had commissioned

Horace Trumbauer Horace Trumbauer (December 28, 1868 – September 18, 1938) was a prominent American architect of the Gilded Age, known for designing residential manors for the wealthy. Later in his career he also designed hotels, office buildings, and much of ...

to design and oversee construction of '' Miramar'', a French neoclassical-style mansion bordering Bellevue Avenue on Aquidneck Island at

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Yor ...

. Intended as a summer home, it was still in the design stage at the time of his death.''Providence Journal''- December 2, 2006
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In popular culture

Widener was played by Guy Standing, Jr. in the film ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, Unit ...

'' (1953).

References

Sources

Mr George Dunton Widener, ''Encyclopedia Titanica''
* ''Titanic: Triumph and Tragedy'', by John P. Eaton and Charles A. Haas, W.W. Newton & Company, 2nd edition 1995 * ''A Night to Remember'', by Walter Lord, ed. Nathaniel Hilbreck, Owl Books, rep. 2004, {{DEFAULTSORT:Widener, George Dunton 1861 births 1912 deaths American transportation businesspeople Businesspeople from Philadelphia Deaths by drowning People associated with the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts People associated with the Philadelphia Museum of Art People from Cheltenham, Pennsylvania People from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Deaths on the RMS Titanic Widener family