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Margaret Brown
Molly Brown
Biological Information
Full name

Margaret Brown

Nicknames

Molly (by everyone)

Gender

Female

Born

July 18, 1867

Death

October 26, 1932 (age 65)

Cause

Brain tumor

Background Information
Family

John Tobin (father)
Johanna Collins (mother)
James Brown (husband)
Lawrence Brown (son)
Catherine Brown (daughter)

Romances

James Brown (married)

Hometown

Denver, Colorado

Religion

Roman Catholic

Titanic Statistics
Boarded

Cherbourg, France

Destination

New York, U.S.A.

Occupation

Passenger

Class

First class

Fate

Escaped on lifeboat 6

Production
Classification

Historical character

Portrayal

Kathy Bates

Margaret Tobin Brown, also known as "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" (although she was never known as "Molly" in her lifetime as she was actually called "Maggie") was an American socialite, philanthropist and activist who became famous as one of the survivors of the sinking of the Titanic.

Biography

According to historical facts, Margaret "Molly" Tobin Brown was born in Hannibal, Missouri on July 18, 1867. Brown was married with a son and a daughter. She and her family moved to Denver, Colorado in 1894. Between the 1880s and 1912, her husband had found some gold in the west and they became very wealthy. She boarded the RMS Titanic from Cherbourg as a first class passenger. Despite being wealthy, several women in first class despised her, especially Rose's snooty mother Ruth DeWitt Bukater. Ruth saw Molly as "new-money", which meant that she had earned her wealth instead of inheriting it therefore was not of an upper-class breeding from birth, and tried to avoid her company. However, Molly did not let this bother her at all and even made a point of sticking to them like glue to annoy them with her difference in decorum.

Being of working class background, she was more empathetic to the so-called "lower class" passengers onboard. She assisted Jack Dawson in impressing Rose DeWitt Bukater and the other first class passengers by lending him her son's tuxedo, and when he was confused by large number of utensils at his dinner setting she advised him to "start from the outside and work your way in". When Jack shared his view on life, she supported him by declaring "well-said", leading the rest of the table in applauding him. Later, she regaled everyone with a funny tale involving her husband accidentally lighting a fire in the stove while both "drunk as a pig" and unaware that Molly had concealed money inside it. Only the stiff and uptight Ruth and Caledon Hockley refused to laugh at it.

When the Titanic sank, Molly escaped in Lifeboat No. 6 and was one of the 705 survivors of the Titanic's shipwreck. She clashes with Quartermaster Robert Hichens in the lifeboat; Molly believed that, because there was plenty of room in the boat, they should pick up survivors in the water, but Hichens believed they would swamp the boat. She almost wins in her argument, until Hichens threatens to toss her overboard, and she was left to do nothing but watch in horror as Titanic slid beneath the waves. In reality, just the opposite exchange occurred, and the boat did go back for survivors, of which none were found.

Molly, Ruth, Quartermaster Hichens, and all the occupants of Lifeboat 6 were picked up by the RMS Carpathia early on the morning of April 15, 1912. Since she survived the sinking, Molly doesn't appear at the end with everyone else when Rose and Jack are reunited in the Grand Staircase, but Rose still fondly remembers her. Although the film does not depict her fate, the real Molly Brown died from a brain tumor in 1932.

Historical basis

Margaret Brown, much like her film counterpart, was born working class and came into money through her husband's mining success. Brown used her socialite status in the immediate aftermath of the sinking and the following years to provide support for the various second and third class survivors of the sinking, from basic necessities to even counseling.

Despite what the film depicts, Brown did not earn the nickname "Molly" until after her death, instead being known as "Maggie Brown" or "The Unsinkable Mrs. Brown." Additionally, the film does not depict the action for which she was most known, wrestling control of Lifeboat No. 6 from the increasingly unpopular Quartermaster Robert Hichens by threatening to throw him overboard.

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