Margaret Brown

Margaret Brown (née Tobin; July 18, 1867 – October 26, 1932), posthumously known as the "Unsinkable Molly Brown", was an American socialite and philanthropist. She was a survivor of the RMS Titanic, which sank in 1912, and she unsuccessfully urged the crew in Lifeboat No. 6 to return to the debris field to look for survivors. During her lifetime, her friends called her "Maggie", but by her death, obituaries referred to her as the "Unsinkable Mrs. Brown". Gene Fowler referred to her as "Molly Brown" in his 1933 book Timber Line. The following year, she was referred to as the "Unsinkable Mrs. Brown" and "Molly Brown" in newspapers. The 1960 Broadway musical The Unsinkable Molly Brown with music and lyrics by Meredith Willson and book by Richard Morris is a fictionalized account of the life of Brown. The musical was subsequently made into the 1964 film of the same name starring Debbie Reynolds. Brown has been portrayed on television and in film by Thelma Ritter, Cloris Leachman, Marilu Henner and Kathy Bates.