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Titanic Survivor’s Stories Are As Dramatic As The Sinking

Aimee Heidelberg December 14, 2023 28 min

A young boy with long hair and a wide collar, and a lifeboat from Titanic. — Frank Goldsmith as a young child (l) and a collapsible lifeboat from Titanic, possibly the one carrying Frank Goldsmith. Public domain.

Eleanor Widener Changes Harvard

Classical revival library building with frieze naming it after Titanic survivor — Widener Library, Harvard University, dedicated to Titanic victim Harry Widener. Caroline Culler (2015, CC4.0).

The death of Widener’s son and husband prompted her to leave a legacy at Harvard University, a place that left a deep impact on her family. She donated the funds to build a library dedicated to her son. The Harry Elkins Widener Library embodied a particular dream of Harry’s. A young man with a passion for books, Harry wanted to donate his personal book collection to Harvard, but found its current library in Gore Hall to be unsuitable for such a prominent university.

Eleanor had the library constructed in the popular Beaux Arts style, clad in red brick with classical elements, creating a monument on the campus. The library has over fifty miles of shelving. The library’s Widener Memorial Room is dedicated to Harry and his love of books, and contains first editions from Charles Dickens and Robert Louis Stevenson.