Margaret Brown, Denver

Margaret Tobin Brown became famous as a heroic survivor of the Titanic shipwreck that killed 1,500, but her spirit + aspirations were "unsinkable" throughout her colorful career as a leading philanthropist, activist and socialite. Thanks to cultural representations like that of The Unsinkable Molly Brown and Titanic, Margaret Brown is now remembered as Molly Brown, a flamboyant, uncultured, nouveau riche woman whose life was both eccentric and heroic. Then, at age 19, Maggie and her brother Daniel moved to Leadville, Colorado.

So, next time you're looking for something to do while you're in Denver, I would definitely urge you to go visit the Molly Brown House. Margaret became a founding member of the Denver Woman's Club, part of a network of clubs which advocated literacy, education, suffrage, and human rights in Colorado and throughout the United States.

The beautiful and stately brownstone house in Downtown Denver was built in 1889 in the Queen Anne style. Today we'll be discussing none other than Margaret Brown, aka The Unsinkable Molly Brown.” Molly Brown survived the infamous sinking of the RMS Titanic, was a philanthropist and activist, and truly left her mark on the state of Colorado.

A nonprofit, Historic Denver, formed in 1970 when the house was condemned and was on the docket to be destroyed. Brown's fondness for the spotlight Unsinkable Molly Brown House is the foundation of her outrageous, larger-than-life reputation. In Leadville, Molly became active in the early feminist movement and aided in the establishment of the Colorado Chapter of the North American Women's Suffrage Association.

She became known, by her own declaration, following the Titanic disaster, as The Unsinkable Molly Brown and has been known ever after by that appellation. Margaret Tobin was the daughter of Irish Catholic immigrants and born in Hannibal, Missouri. The Titanic was a marvel at the time in terms of technology and innovation, and it claimed to be practically unsinkable.” Built by British White Star Lines, the $10 million ship weighed approximately 46,000 tons and stretched about 883 feet long.

The museum does do its best to promote the reality of Margaret Brown's life, though. Atter hopes the Molly Brown House Museum will dispel this characterization and introduce visitors to an educated, well-traveled social activist who influenced national and even international politics.

Historic Denver's Molly Brown House Museum is among the most visited historic sites in the state of Colorado, and one of only a handful of sites nationally dedicated to the interpretation of a woman's story. If you've taken our Denver tour, you might remember that we stop at the Molly Brown House and Museum, and discuss the life of this extremely interesting and vibrant woman (who's name was actually Margaret).