Harry Elkins Widener
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Harry Elkins Widener (January 3, 1885 – April 15, 1912) was an American businessman and bibliophile, and a member of the Widener family. His mother built Harvard University'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''.


Biography

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 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, and the grandson of entrepreneur
Peter A. B. Widener Peter Arrell Browne Widener (November 13, 1834 – November 6, 1915) was an American businessman, art collector, and patriarch of the Widener family of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Widener was ranked #29 on the ''American Heritage'' list of the f ...
(1834–1915). He attended The Hill School 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 in 1907, where he was a member of Hasty Pudding Theatricals and the Owl Club. 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 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 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. 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