Molly Brown Biography

Molly Brown, born as Margaret Tobin, was an American socialite, activist and actress who became famous for surviving the sinking of the Titanic in 1912. Even though surviving the sinking of the ill-fated ship became her claim to fame, Brown was already a feminist and social activist engaged in welfare work long before the oceanic disaster happened. Born to working class parents, Brown was no stranger to the difficulties faced by the poor and the middle-class, especially by the women. Her involvement in social work began when as the wife of a mining engineer, she started volunteering in soup kitchens to help families of poor miners. She became member of women’s organizations that worked for the improvement of women’s lives through extensive education. She also tried to enter politics, albeit unsuccessfully. She was one of the passengers aboard the ill-fated Titanic on her maiden voyage and was catapulted to overnight fame when she survived the sinking of the ship. Post-Titanic, she used her new found fame to advocate for the issues she felt strongly about, like women and children’s rights, education, abolishment of illiteracy, historic preservation, etc. During her later years, she also worked as an actress. After her death, she was popularly known as "The Unsinkable Molly Brown".