People who died on the Titanic, but could change the world (11 photos). Passengers of the Titanic - high society and the elite who escaped and drowned Service for two presidents

Nothing in this life is eternal. Happy people are confident that this will always be the case. But they cannot know what awaits them tomorrow. Who knows, maybe sweet ignorance is much better than the bitter truth? Fortunately, there are individuals who strive to take everything from life. They are not content with small things and try their best to change the world. Today we are talking about the sinking of the Titanic and remembering the deaths of prominent people whose power could have become limitless. However, their lives were cut short.

What needs to be achieved so that the President of the United States of America not only leaves an obituary after the death of a person, but also calls him his younger brother? As soon as President Taft learned of the death of the Titanic, he did not look for his old friend among the survivors. The head of the country was sure that Major Archibald Butt acted as an official during the crash, helping to save women and children. Previously, our first hero served as a personal assistant to President Theodore Roosevelt, but remained in office after the election of William Howard Taft.

In early 1912, the military's health began to deteriorate and he decided to spend a few weeks in Europe. The return home for Major Archibald Butt was fatal. He was on that ill-fated liner, and, according to eyewitnesses, he was last seen with Francis Millais in the smoking room. When it became clear that disaster could not be avoided, Butt began to help passengers evacuate to lifeboats, and addressed one of his colleagues with the famous phrase: “Women are saved first, or I will break every bone in your body.” His body was not found.

Benjamin Guggenheim

It was one of the offspring of the mining magnate Mayer Guggenheim. The Swiss immigrant bought his first two copper mines in Colorado in 1880 and built his mining empire from the ground up. Benjamin was the fifth son, so he did not inherit his father's business, but he got most of his capital. However, he wisely disposed of it by investing in a company that maintains elevators on the Eiffel Tower. The entrepreneur was married, but was passionate about France and everything connected with it. For most of his adult life, he lived in two houses, so he often traveled across the ocean.

The story of his last journey is a classic case of ridiculous coincidences leading to tragedy. Initially, he was supposed to make a trip home on the Lusitania liner, while his ship Carmania needed repairs. He seemed to have a presentiment that he should become part of history, and boarded the Titanic. Although his famous phrase, thrown to his valet, certainly immortalized him. Legend has it that after the gentlemen helped the ladies with the evacuation, they dressed in tailcoats and, slowly sipping whiskey, began to expect their own death. When people around suggested they leave the ship, Guggenheim retorted: "We are dressed in the best costumes and we will die like gentlemen." The body of the 46-year-old businessman was not found. He was famous for his generous donations to charity and the development of museums.

Daniel Warner Marvin

When this young man boarded the Titanic, he was only 18 years old. There is no doubt that he could write his name in history differently. He chose for himself the field of engineer, according to family tradition. Marvin's father was one of the founders of the American company Mutoscope and Biograph. According to various sources, Marvin Sr. fought with Thomas Edison for a patent for the creation of a kinetograph, designed to record moving objects on film. Subsequently, the Marvin family developed another movie camera that made it possible to bypass patent restrictions.

One of the first films of the new film studio was the recording of the wedding of young Daniel. The three-week honeymoon was coming to an end, and the newlyweds were returning from a trip aboard the Titanic. Our hero put his pregnant wife in a lifeboat and said: “It's all right, my little girl. You go and I'll stay." His daughter was born a few months later, and footage from the wedding was destroyed by the inconsolable widow. The Marvin family company is still thriving, but is now known as Biograph.

Isidore and Ida Strauss

When you hear about such cases, you believe in the best, in life after death, in true love and self-sacrifice. The couple was incredibly wealthy, but did not spare money for charity. They knew what it was like to be poor, to come to an unfamiliar country from Europe and try to raise their business. In America, they faced civil war and bankruptcy. Gradually, they paid off their debts, moved to New York, where Isidore found a job and later became a congressman.

He rose to the rank of owner of the company, and his subordinates were moved to tears after his death. He felt responsible for the well-being of people and always showed a genuine interest in their lives. Isidor Strauss organized a mutual aid society for workers. At the time of the crash, Ida had a place on a lifeboat, but she refused to leave her husband. The woman put the maid in the boat, giving her coat goodbye. Her body, unlike that of her husband, was not found. When Isidore was buried, it seemed that the whole city came out to the memorial service.

William Thomas Stead

The story goes that little William learned to read Latin at the age of five. He was the son of a British minister and received an excellent education. Having become a journalist, Stead devoted much of his time to social activities and single-handedly conducted investigations. He promoted morality through the London newspapers and became the founder of the movement against child prostitution. He believed that journalism could change the world for the better. Stead advocated social reforms, for the formation of an alternative people's government. His work was so large-scale that in 1912 a prominent social activist was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. When the Titanic sank, the body of William Thomas Stead was not found. We do not know what scenario the development of society could have followed if the journalist had not boarded the ill-fated liner.

John Jacob Astor IV

This man was the controversial and controversial heir to the Astor family. The hotel complex "Waldorf-Astoria" is not the only achievement of our next hero. His great-grandfather created a monopoly in the fur trade and provided his heirs with not only a profitable business, but also the title of the richest people in America. However, John Jacob Astor's interests extended far beyond business. A futuristic novel came out from under his pen, and the talent of an engineer helped him invent a bicycle brake and a pneumatic track. He was a member of the Spanish-American War and rose to the rank of colonel, in addition, he tried his hand at motorsport.

The scandal happened when Astor divorced his first wife and got together with a woman who was younger than his own son. Criticism from the media rained down on the millionaire, and he decided to hide from the attention of the press in Europe for a while. Astor and his young pregnant wife were returning home aboard the Titanic. Madeleine survived and gave birth to a son, whom she named John Jacob. The body of the millionaire was raised from the bottom on April 22 and buried in New York.

We always naively believe that tomorrow will certainly come, since it came every day, and nothing can change this habitual ritual. The passengers on the Titanic felt the same way. This large-scale catastrophe of the 20th century claimed the lives of one and a half thousand people, among whom were many famous personalities who could change the course of history if they were alive.

1. Major Archibald Butt

President William Taft said of Archibald Butt in his speech, "He was like a brother to me, or like a son." The major was not only one of Taft's military assistants, but also an adviser to President Theodore Roosevelt. His letters to his fiancée described the characters of both presidents very accurately and, in fact, served as excellent material for creating portraits of these politicians. Major Butt was a great diplomat and keeper of many secrets of the American government.

2. Benjamin Guggenheim

Today, the Guggenheim name is more associated with art, but the family originally started by buying copper mines and building a mining empire. Benjamin himself founded an international company for the production of pumping machines. He was going to return to the US on another ship, but history decreed otherwise. At the time of the crash, the Guggenheim and his valet dressed in their best clothes to spend their final hours the way they lived: like gentlemen.

3. Daniel Warner Marvin

This young man was only 18 years old, and he was going to become an engineer and continue the dynasty. His father was one of the founders of the Mutoscope and Biograph company and allegedly even competed with Edison for a patent on a camera for making films. As a result, the Marvins developed a different apparatus for filming. From Europe, young Daniel was returning with his pregnant wife, who had escaped. And his family's company still exists today under the name Biograph.

4. John Jacob Astor IV

The Astor family was very successful in the fur and real estate trade, and John Jacob himself was a talented engineer developing engines for wind turbines. In addition, he wrote science fiction novels and was considered the richest man of the time with a fortune of $ 58 billion in today's money.

5. Isidore and Ida Strauss

This New York City couple systematically gave away a large portion of their wealth to charity. At one time, Isidor Strauss started from scratch and managed to become a successful businessman, and then a congressman. He even created the first self-help society for wage earners. During the crash of the liner, his wife Ida refused to leave her husband, giving way to her maid in the boat.

6. Henry Forbes Julian

This English metallurgist was also an active explorer of the African continent. Working as an engineer in mines in Africa, he wrote innovative papers and prepared patent applications, and was known for developing innovative methods in metallurgy and mining. In addition, he traveled extensively in Mexico and Europe, exploring uncharted territories and documenting archaeological artifacts.

7. Quigg Edmund Baxter

After graduating from the Quigg School, Edmund Baxter became seriously interested in hockey and played for the Montreal Shamrocks club. He was predicted to have a bright future in the sport, which he undoubtedly had if, at the age of 24, he had not climbed onto the deck of the Titanic with his mother, sister and girlfriend. Having put his women in a lifeboat, the brilliant hockey player remained on board the ship forever.

8. William Thomas Stead

The son of a minister and a man with a brilliant education, William Stead became a well-known British journalist, covering the most pressing topics and vices of society in the pages of London newspapers, in particular the topic of child prostitution. He even had to work undercover and conduct dangerous investigations on his own. In the year of the Titanic crash, Stead was even nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

9. Francis David Millais

Francis Millais started out as a surgical assistant during civil war in the US, and then became a reporter and editor for the Boston Courier. In addition, Millais was a gifted artist, his work is in London's Tate Gallery and New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art.

10. Jacques Heath Fattrell

Jacques Fatrell wrote more than 40 stories about detective August van Dusen, who could well compete with Sherlock Holmes. The writer was already a huge success in the US, and in 1912 he and his wife went to Europe to discuss European editions of his books and sign a lot of contracts. The trip was so successful that the Fatrells decided to return home on the most luxurious ship of the time - the Titanic.

Joshua Willingham and Pamela Robertson (née Boggs) Butt. His grandfather, Archibald Butt, served in the American Revolutionary War. His great-grandfather, Josiah Butt, was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Continental Army during the same conflict. He was the nephew of General William R. Boggs of the Confederate States Army (CSA). He had two older brothers (Edward and Lewis), a younger brother (John) and a sister (Clara), and the family was poor. Butt attended various local schools while growing up, including Summerville Academy. Butt's father died when Butt was 14 and Butt went to work to support his mother, sister and younger brother. Pamela Butt wanted her son to enter the clergy.

With the financial help of weed Rev. Edwin G. (who later became the Episcopal Bishop of Florida), Butt attended the University of the South in Sevanee, Tennessee. His mother worked as a librarian at the university, where she lived rent-free in an apartment in the library. While in college, he became interested in journalism and was eventually named editor of the college newspaper. Butt met John Breckinridge Castleman, a former big and partisan CSA fighter during the American Civil War and who was, by 1883, Adjutant General of the Kentucky Militia. He joined the Delta To Delta fraternity and graduated in 1888.

After taking graduate-level courses in Greek and Latin, Butt traveled to Louisville, Kentucky, to meet with Castleman. While in that city, he met Henry Watterson, the founder Louisville Magazine Courier. Watterson hired him as a reporter, and Butt remained in Louisville for three years. butt left Courier Journal and worked for Macon Telegraph for a year before moving to Washington, DC Butt covered state affairs for several southern newspapers, including Atlanta constitution, Augusta Chronicle, Nashville Banner and Savannah Morning News.

Butt was a popular figure in D.C. social circles and made numerous important acquaintances during his time in the capital. When former Senator Matt Ransome was appointed United States Ambassador to Mexico in August 1895, he asked Butt to be the embassy's First Secretary. Butt wrote several articles for American magazines and published several novels while in Mexico. He returned to the United States in 1897 after Ransome's term, when the ambassador had finished.

Military service

On January 2, 1900, Butt was commissioned as a captain in the United States Volunteers (an all-volunteer group that was not part of the United States regular army, but was under the control of the regular army). He had long admired the military, and no one in his immediate family was in the military at the time the Spanish-American War broke out. Although Butt's writing career was taking off, his family's long association with the military and his desire to represent his family in the military during the war led him to enlist. US Army Adjutant General Henry Clark Corbin was influential in encouraging him to enlist.

Butt was appointed as assistant quartermaster (i.e. delivery officer). He was ordered to board a transport ship Sumner through the Suez Canal and continue to the Philippines. But he was keen to enter the war and secured a change in orders that sent him from San Francisco, California, aboard USS Dorothea Dix. New butt orders required him to stop in Hawaii with his load of 500 mules. But he found the price of feed and stables so high and animal quarters so inadequate that he disobeyed orders and continued on to the Philippines. Although this risked the lives of his animals (and a possible court martial), none of the mules died en route, and Butt was praised for his initiative. Butt remained in the Philippines until 1904, writing numerous treatises on the care of animals in the tropics and on military transportation and logistics. His reports won him considerable praise from military officials.

On June 30, 1901, Butt was discharged from the Volunteers and received a commission as a captain in the Regular Army, retroactive to February 2, 1901.

Butt's social activities continued while he was in the Philippines. He was Minister of the Army and Navy Club, and had a major role in founding the Military Order of Carabao (a tongue-in-cheek scam of military fraternal organizations that is still in existence as of 2012).

In 1904, Butt was ordered to return to Washington, DC, where he was appointed Quartermaster Depot. He was the lowest-ranking officer ever to hold this important position within the Quartermaster Corps. In 1906, when a revolution against Tomas Estrada of Palma broke out in Cuba, Butt was hastily assigned to lead the US Army's logistical operations there. At just two days' notice, he established a well-organized supply base. It was named the Quartermaster Warehouse in Havana.

Service for two presidents

Butt was recalled to Washington in March 1908. President Theodore Roosevelt asked him to serve as his military assistant in April 1908 - just a month after Butt's return to the United States. There were several reasons why Roosevelt chose Butt. Among these were that Roosevelt became acquainted with Butt's organizational skills in the Philippines and was impressed by his hard work and care. Another was that Taft recommended Butt, whom he knew well from their time together abroad.

Butt became one of Roosevelt's closest companions. Although Butt was sturdy, he and Roosevelt were constantly walking, climbing, hiking, horseback riding, running, swimming and playing tennis. Butt also quickly staged the White House's chaotic receptions, transforming them from exhausting, hour-long events fraught with social gaffes into efficient, orchestrated events.

When William Howard Taft became president in March 1909, he asked Butt to remain as a military assistant. Butt went on to serve as a social functionary for Taft, but he also happened to have strong negotiating skills and a good head for numbers, which enabled him to become actual head of the Taft delegation on federal budget issues. Butt accompanied President Taft when he threw out the first ball in the first home game of Major League Baseball's Washington Nationals in 1910 and 1911. (Butt died at sea shortly before the first game in 1912 and Taft, according to Washington Post, was overcome, and "could not attend for obvious reasons.")

By 1912, Taft's first term was coming to an end. Roosevelt, who fell out with Taft, was known to consider running for president against him. Close to both men and fiercely loyal, Butt began to suffer from depression and exhaustion. Butt's housemate and friend Francis Davis Millais (himself one of Taft's circle) asked Taft to give him a leave of absence to recuperate before the presidential primaries began. Taft agreed and ordered Butt to go on leave. Butt was not in any official business, but anti-Catholic newspapers and politicians accused Butt of being on a secret mission to win the support of Pope Pius X in the upcoming elections. Butt did intend to meet with Pius, and he carried with him a personal letter from Taft. But the letter was simply thankful that the Pope raised three Americans to the rank of cardinal and asked what social protocol was for welcoming them in functions.

downgrade Titanic and death

Butt left on a six-week holiday for Europe on March 1, 1912, accompanied by Millais. Butte booked pass on RMS Titanic for his return to the United States. He sat down on Titanic at Southampton, United Kingdom, 10 April 1912; his partner Millais boarded a ship in Cherbourg, France, later that same day. Butt was playing cards on the night of April 14 in the first-class smoking room, when Titanic hit the iceberg. The ship sank two and a half hours later with the loss of over 1,500 lives.

Butt's actions while the ship sank are largely unverified, but many accounts of a typically sensational nature were published by newspapers after the disaster. One account had the ship's captain, Edward J. Smith, telling Butt that the ship was doomed, after which Butt began acting as the ship's officer and supervised the loading and lowering of lifeboats. New York Times also claimed that Torets herded women and children into lifeboats. Another account said that Butt, a gun in his hand, prevented frightened male passengers from storming the lifeboats. Yet another version of events said that Butt yanked the man out of one of the lifeboats so that the woman could stop. In this story, Butt announced, "Sorry, women will be attended to first or I will break every damn bone in your body!" One account speaks of Butt preventing desperate third-class passengers from breaking into first-class areas in a desperate attempt to avoid the sinking ship. Book The sinking of the Titanic Walter Lord disagrees with claims that Butt acted as an officer. Lord says Butt most likely watched the ship's evacuation calmly. Many newspapers repeated the story allegedly told by Marie Young. In this story, it is said that Butt helped her into Lifeboat No. 8, tucked the blanket over her and said, "Goodbye, Miss Young. Good luck with you. Will you kindly remember me to all the people back home?” Young later wrote to President Taft denying that she had ever told such a story.

Even the final moments of Butt remain controversial. Dr. Washington Dodge says he saw the position of John Jacob Astor and Butt near the bridge as the ship sank. (Dodge's account is highly unlikely, as his lifeboat was more than far from the ship at the time it sank.) Other witnesses say they saw him standing quietly on deck or standing side by side with Astor waving goodbye . Several accounts had Butt returning to the smoking room, where he stood still or resumed his card game. But these accounts have been disputed by author John Maxstone-Graham.

Butter died on Titanic; his body never recovered.

Funerals, memorials and papers

On May 2, 1912, a memorial service was held at the Butt family home with 1,500 mourners, including President Taft, attending. Taft spoke at the service, saying:

At the second ceremony, held in Washington, D.C., on May 5, Taft broke down and wept, bringing his eulogy to an acrimonious end.

memorials

Several memorials to Battu have been created over the years. The cenotaph was erected in the summer of 1913 in Section 3 of the Arlington National Cemetery. Butt himself had chosen the spot earlier. In October 1913 the Butt Millet Memorial Fountain, named for Archibald Butt and Francis Millais, was dedicated near the White House on the Ellipse. In Augusta, Georgia, the Butt Memorial Bridge was dedicated in 1914 by Taft. Washington National Cathedral contains a large plaque dedicated to Major Archibald Butt; it can be found on the wall in the museum shop.

A government supply boat made of concrete was also named after Butt. It was one of nine experimental crafts (all named for deceased members of the Quartermaster Corps) built by the Newport Shipbuilding Corporation in 1920 in New Bern, North Carolina. It was sold to an aquarium in Miami, Florida in 1934 and was later sunk or made off in Biscayne Bay.

papers

During his time serving Roosevelt and Taft, Butt wrote almost daily letters to his sister Clara. These letters are a key source of information about the more private events of the two presidencies and provide insight into the respective characters of Roosevelt and Taft. Donald E. Wilkes, Jr., professor of law at the University of Georgia School of Law, concluded, "All definitive biographies of Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft necessarily rely on the information in Archie's letters." These letters (which overlap several) have been published twice. In 1924 the first collection was released, Letters from Archie Butt, Personal Assistant to President Roosevelt. Second set of letters Taft and Roosevelt: Intimate Letters from Archie Butt, Military Assistant, were published in two volumes in 1930 after Taft's death.

Personal life

Butt lived in a large mansion at 2000 G Street NW with painter Francis Davis Millais. "Millet, my artist friend who lives with me" was Butt's designation for his companion. They were known for throwing spartan but big parties that were attended by members of Congress, Supreme Court justices and President Taft himself.

A wide range of reasons have been given why Butt never seemed interested in women. Chief among them was that Butt loved his own mother so much that there was little room for anyone else. Even Taft thought this explanation was correct. At the time of Butt's death, rumors circulated that he was about to lose his lifelong bachelor status. News reports said he had an underage mistress who was either carrying their unborn child or who had already given birth, or that Butt was engaged to a Colorado woman. None of these rumors were true.

Throughout his adult life, Archie has shared his quarters with various people. At the time he had Frank Millet as a housemate, he also had as many as three extra people sharing his quarters. It was common practice to cut costs. In addition, not only did Frank Millet's affair with Stobbard end many years before he met Archie, he also got married and had four children. He was very devoted to his wife Lilly and roomed with Archie when he was supposed to be in Washington where he had a studio.

The body of the millet was recovered from the sinking and was buried in Bridgewater, Massachusetts.

Sexuality

Some speculation exists that Butt was homosexual. Historian Carl Sferrazza Anthony wrote that Taft's explanation, only "vaguely reversed" Butt of the real reason, did not marry. Davenport-Hines, however, believes that Butt and Millais were homosexual lovers. In 2012 he wrote:

Historian James Gifford tentatively agrees. He points out that there is clear written evidence that Millais had at least one homosexual affair earlier in his life (with the American writer Charles Warren Stobbard). But any conclusion, Gifford says, must remain tentative: Occasionally. In this novel, Butt is sent to Europe by President Taft and former President Roosevelt to prevent World War I. In Europe, he apparently makes the necessary guarantees to make a European war impossible. However, even when informed of the ship's impending sinking by this time the traveling protagonist, he refuses to save himself and his mission when the women and children perish. His mission fails with his death.

1998 novel by James Walker Murder on the Titanic, includes Butt as a minor character.

Michael Bockman's 2012 novel, The Colossal Plan, features Archibald Butt as a major character in the novel's historical involvement of the day's leading industrial and banking tycoons and their plan to establish an illegal national commercial monopoly that would lead to massive power and political influence for several super-rich men.

Butt appears in the 2014 novel Abraham Lincoln's Great Pocket Clock Conspiracy, where he is depicted as President Taft's closest friend, and companion aboard the fictitious presidential airship "Airborne One", which Butt pilots. The book uses period newspaper articles to report Butt's progress from Captain to Chief and even uses his letters to his sister Clara. Butt plays a major role in the story and is listed as one of its four main characters on the book's website. His death is depicted as the climactic showdown between the US and King Leopold II of Belgium aboard the Titanic.

Bibliography

• Abbott, Lawrence F. "Introduction." In Butt, Archibald Willingham. Letters from Archie Butt, Personal Assistant to President Roosevelt. Lawrence F. Abbott, ed. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1924.
• Anthony, Carl Sferrazza. Nellie Taft: Unconventional First Lady of the Ragtime Era. New York: Harper Perennial, 2006.
• "Archibald W. Butt". (No author given.) In Butt, Archibald W. Both Sides of the Shield.
• Barczewski, Stephanie. Titanic: the night is remembered. London: Hambledon Continuum, 2006.
• Boyd, William K. "introduction". in Boggs, William R. War memories of General Wm. R. Boggs, K.S.A. Durham, NC: Seaman Printing House, 1913.
• Bromley, Michael L. William Howard Taft and the first driving presidency, 1909-1913. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 2003.
• "Butt, Archibald Willingham Degreffenreid". AT Encyclopedia of Louisville. John E. Kleber, ed. Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 2001.
• Caplan, Bruce M. The sinking of the Titanic. Seattle: Hara Publishing, 1997.
• Garrison, Webb B. Treasury of colossal stories. Nashville, TN: Rutledge Hill Press, 1998.
• Gould, Lewis L. American First Ladies: Their Lives and Their Legacy. Florence, KY: Taylor & Francis, 2001.
• Earl, Henry Franklin. Presidents: A Reference History. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2002.
• Hines, Stephen W. Titanic: one newspaper, seven days and the truth that shocked the world. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks, 2011.
• Knight, Lucien Lamar. Standard History of Georgia and Georgians. Chicago: Lewis Pub. Ko., 1917.
• Lord Walter. The death of the Titanic. New York: Undersized Books, 1955. ISBN 0-553-27827-4
• Lynch, Don. Titanic: An Illustrated History. New York: Hyperion, 1993.
• Macfarland, Henry B.F. Columbia region: short biographies its famous and representative contemporary citizens and valuable statistics. Washington DC: Potomac Press, 1909.
• Matthews, John. Complete the American Armory and the Blue Book: Combining the 1903, 1907 and 1911-23 editions. Baltimore, MD: Clearfield Co., 1995.
• Maxstone-Graham, John. Colossal tragedy: a new look at the lost liner. New York: V.V. Norton, 2012.
• McDaniel, Gene M. North Augusta: James W. Jackson's dream. Charleston, SC: Arcadia, 2005.
• Morris, Edmund. Theodor Rex. New York: Modern Library, 2001.
• Mowbray, Jay Henry. The Sinking of the Titanic: Eyewitness Accounts. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications, 1998.
• O'Toole, Patricia. When Trumpets Toll: Theodore Roosevelt After the White House. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2006.
• Peters, James Edward. Arlington National Cemetery: Shrine to America's Heroes. Meetinghouse, MD: Woodbine Cigarette House, 2000.
• Roth, Russell. Dirty Glory: America's Indian Wars in the Philippines, 1899-1935. West Hanover, MA: Christopher Pub. House, 1981.
• Schemmel, William. Georgia curiosities: quirky characters, roadside oddities & other original stuff. Guildford, CT: Globe Pequot Press, 2011.
• Smith, Elsdon cabbage. History of our names. Detroit: Exploring the Storm, 1970.
• Spignesi, Stephen J. Titanic for layouts. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2012.
• Taft, William Howard. "Foreword". At the butt, Archibald W. both sides of the shield. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Co., 1912.
• Watterson, John Sale. Games presidents play: sports and presidency. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006.

External links

• Major Archibald butt writes travel agent day before boarding the Titanic

• Archibald W. Paper butt. Georgia Department of Archives and History.

• Eulogy for Major Archibald Butt written by the President William Howard Taft Shapele Manuscript Foundation

• "The Butt Letters of Archibald Willingham, 1908-1912". Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library. Emory University.

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Major Archibald Willingham Butt(English) Archibald Willingham Butt, September 26 ( 18650926 ) - April 15) - an influential military assistant to US Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft. Before becoming Roosevelt's aide, Butt began his career in journalism and served in the Spanish–American War. Died in the sinking of the Titanic.

Biography

Archibald Willingham Butt was born in Augusta, Georgia to Josh Willingham Butt and Pamela Robertson Boggs. He was the nephew of General William Robertson Boggs, who served in the Confederate States Army. The Butt family was prominent in Augusta but suffered financially during the American Civil War. When Archibald was 14 his father died and he had to go to work to support his mother, sister and younger brother. Thanks to the contributions of the pastor of the church and the mother, who got a job there as a librarian, Archibald was able to go to study at Sevanee South University, Tennessee, from which he graduated in 1888. As a student, Butt was a member of the Delta Tau Delta club. Butt began his career as a journalist working for The Courier-Journal and later became a reporter in Washington for the Southern newspapers The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Nashville Banner. Although Batt worked in Washington, he was the first secretary of the US Embassy in Mexico under former Senator Mette Ransome.

Military service

By 1912, as Taft's first term drew to a close, Butt's health began to fail. His friend, the painter Francis Davis Millet, asked President Taft to give Butt a leave of absence to recover before the presidential election. Taft agreed and ordered Archibald to go on leave.

While serving with two presidents, Butt wrote letters to his fiancée Clara in Augusta. These letters are valued by modern scholars as the main source of information about the private lives of the two presidents, as well as an invaluable contribution to understanding the characters of Roosevelt and Taft.

Accompanying President Taft as he throws a baseball

On board the Titanic

In the early spring of 1912, Butt's health deteriorated. President Taft gave him a six-week vacation to Europe. Also, Butt was supposed to personally deliver the message to Pope Pius X. He was accompanied on leave by Francis Davis Millet. On April 10, 1912, Butt boarded the Titanic to return to the US, Millet boarded the ship at Cherbourg the same day. On the night of April 14–15, when the Titanic collided with an iceberg, Butt was playing cards in a class 1 smoking lounge. The ship sank at 2:20 am.

Butt's actions that night are not known for certain. According to some reports, Captain Edward John Smith informed him that the ship was doomed, and there were not enough boats. Butt immediately began to act as another officer, helping women and children. One officer said that the major helped desperate women up on deck. Walter Lord, in A Night to Remember, disagreed that Butt acted as an official, arguing that he was simply watching the evacuation. Butt died in a shipwreck; the body was not found.

memorial service

Since Butt's body was not found, a cenotaph was erected in section 3 of the Arlington National Cemetery. On May 2, 1912, 1,500 people, including President Taft, attended a memorial service at the Butt family home. He said:

In 1913, the Batta Millet Memorial Fountain was erected in Presidential Park near the White House. In Augusta, in 1914, Taft dedicated the Butt Memorial Bridge.

A large plaque dedicated to Major Archibald Butt has been unveiled at Washington Cathedral. It can also be found in the Store Museum.

In literature

Butt plays an important role in Jack Finney's novel Between the Three Times. In it, the President of the United States sends Butt to Europe for secret meetings with European leaders. After that, Butt goes on the Titanic to the USA with documents addressed to the President, ensuring the prevention of a world war. During the crash of the ship, Batt is offered a place on the boat, but he refuses and dies along with the ship.

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Notes

• Hustak, Alan, Hermann Söldner, Craig Stringer and Geoff Whitfield. . Encyclopedia Titanica. Retrieved August 7, 2005. .

Links

• A collection of Archibald Willingham Butt papers is housed at the .

additional literature

• , & (1994).

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An excerpt characterizing Butt, Archibald

One of those sitting looked very familiar, and, of course, having looked at him carefully, I immediately recognized Svetodar ... He almost did not change, only his hair became shorter. But the face remained almost as young and fresh as on the day when he left Montsegur ... The second was also relatively young and very tall (which was visible even sitting). His long, white, frost-covered hair fell over his broad shoulders, shining like pure silver in the sun. This color was very unusual for us - as if not real... But what struck him the most was his eyes - deep, wise and very large, they shone with the same pure silvery light... As if someone with a generous hand scattered myriads of silver stars into them. .. The face of the stranger was hard and at the same time kind, collected and detached, as if at the same time he lived not only our, Earthly, but also some other, alien life...
If I understood correctly, this was exactly the one whom the North called the Wanderer. The one who watched...
Both were dressed in white and red long clothes, girded with a thick, twisted, red cord. The world around this unusual couple swayed smoothly, changing its shape, as if they were sitting in some kind of closed oscillating space, accessible only to the two of them. The air around was fragrant and cool, it smelled of forest herbs, fir trees and raspberries... A light, occasionally running breeze gently caressed the juicy tall grass, leaving in it the smells of distant lilacs, fresh milk and cedar cones... The land here was so surprisingly safe , pure and kind, as if worldly anxieties did not touch her, human malice did not penetrate into her, as if a deceitful, changeable person did not set foot there ...
The two speakers got up and, smiling at each other, began to say goodbye. Svetodar was the first to speak.
– Thank you, Stranger... I bow to you. I can't go back, you know. I'm going home. But I have memorized your lessons and will pass them on to others. You will always live in my memory as well as in my heart. Goodbye.
- Go, in peace, the son of bright people - Svetodar. I'm glad I met you. And I am sad that I say goodbye to you... I gave you everything that you were able to comprehend... And that you are able to give to others. But this does not mean that people will want to accept what you want to tell them. Remember, knowing, a person is responsible for his choice. Not gods, not fate - only the man himself! And until he understands this, the Earth will not change, it will not get better... An easy way home for you, dedicated one. May your Faith protect you. And may our Family help you ...
The vision is gone. The surroundings were empty and lonely. As if the old warm sun quietly disappeared behind a black cloud...
- How much time has passed since the day Svetodar left home, Sever? I already thought that he was leaving for a long time, maybe even for the rest of his life? ..
– And he stayed there all his life, Isidora. For six long decades.
But he looks very young? So he also managed to live long without aging? Did he know the old secret? Or was it taught to him by the Stranger?
“That I cannot tell you, my friend, for I do not know. But I know something else - Svetodar did not have time to teach what the Stranger taught him for years - he was not allowed ... But he managed to see the continuation of his wonderful Family - a small great-great-grandson. Managed to call him by his real name. This gave Svetodar a rare opportunity - to die happy ... Sometimes even this is enough to make life not seem in vain, isn't it, Isidora?
- And again - fate chooses the best! .. Why did he have to study all his life? Why did he leave his wife and child, if everything turned out to be in vain? Or was there some great meaning in it, which I still cannot comprehend, Sever?
“Do not kill yourself in vain, Isidora. You understand everything very well - look into yourself, because the answer is your whole life ... You are fighting, knowing full well that you will not be able to win - you will not be able to win. But how can you do otherwise?.. A person cannot, has no right to give up, admitting the possibility of losing. Even if it’s not you, but someone else who, after your death, will be ignited by your courage and courage, it’s not in vain. It's just that an earthly person has not yet matured to be able to comprehend such a thing. For most people, fighting is only interesting as long as they stay alive, but none of them are interested in what happens after. They still do not know how to "live for posterity", Isidora.
“It's sad, if you're right, my friend... But it won't change today. Therefore, returning to the old, can you say how Svetodar's life ended?
North smiled kindly.
– And you are also changing a lot, Isidora. Even in our last meeting, you would have rushed to assure me that I was wrong! .. You began to understand a lot, my friend. It's only a pity that you're leaving in vain... you can incomparably more!
The North was silent for a moment, but almost immediately continued.
- After long and hard years of lonely wanderings, Svetodar finally returned home, to his beloved Oksitania ... where sad, irreparable losses awaited him.
Long ago, his sweet tender wife, Margarita, passed away, who never waited for him to share their difficult life with him ... He also did not find his wonderful granddaughter Tara, who was given to them by their daughter Maria ... and great-granddaughter Maria, who died at the birth of his great-great-grandson, who was born just three years ago. Too much of his family was lost... Too heavy a burden crushed him, not allowing him to enjoy the rest of his life... Look at them, Isidora... They are worth knowing.
And again I appeared where long-dead people lived, who became dear to my heart... Bitterness wrapped my soul in a shroud of silence, not allowing me to communicate with them. I couldn't address them, I couldn't even tell how courageous and wonderful they were...

Occitania...

Three people were standing at the very top of a high stone mountain... One of them was Svetodar, he looked very sad. Nearby, leaning on his arm, stood a very beautiful young woman, and a little blond boy clung to her, clutching a huge armful of bright wildflowers to his chest.
- Whom did you get so much, Belayarushka? Svetodar asked kindly.
- Well, how?! .. - the boy was surprised, immediately dividing the bouquet into three even parts. - This is for mommy ... And this is for dear grandmother Tara, and this is for grandmother Maria. Isn't that right, grandpa?
Svetodar did not answer, only tightly pressed the boy to his chest. He was all he had left... this wonderful sweet baby. After the great-granddaughter Maria, who died during childbirth, whom Svetodar never saw, the baby had only Aunt Marsilla (standing next to them) and his father, whom Beloyar almost did not remember, since he fought somewhere all the time.
- Is it true that you will never leave now, grandfather? Is it true that you will stay with me and teach me? Aunt Marcilla says that now you will always live only with us. Is it true, grandpa?
The baby's eyes shone like bright stars. Apparently, the appearance of such a young and strong grandfather from somewhere delighted the baby! Well, the “grandfather”, sadly hugging him, thought at that time about those whom he would never see again, even if he lived on Earth for even a hundred lonely years ...

Archibald Willingham Butt was born in Augusta, Georgia to Josh Willingham Butt and Pamela Robertson Boggs. He was the nephew of General William Robertson Boggs, who served in the Army of the Confederate States of America. The Butt family was prominent in Augusta but suffered financially during the American Civil War. When Archibald was 14 his father died and he had to go to work to support his mother, sister and younger brother. Thanks to the contributions of the pastor of the church and the mother, who got a job there as a librarian, Archibald was able to go to study at Sevanee South University, Tennessee, from which he graduated in 1888. As a student, Butt was a member of the Delta Tau Delta club. Butt began his career as a journalist working for The Courier-Journal and later became a reporter in Washington for the Southern newspapers The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Nashville Banner. Although Batt worked in Washington, he was the first secretary of the US Embassy in Mexico under former Senator Mette Ransome.

Military service

In 1898, during the Spanish–American War, Butt joined the army as a lieutenant. In 1900-1904 he served in the Philippines. During his service in the Philippines, Butt participated in the creation of the "Military Order of Carabao". In 1904, in Washington, he met with then President Theodore Roosevelt. In 1906 he was sent to Cuba to appease the violence. In 1908, now Captain Butt, he was recalled to Washington as chief military aide to President Theodore Roosevelt. When William Howard Taft became the new president of the United States, Butt remained in his former position. In 1911 Butt was promoted to major.

By 1912, as Taft's first term drew to a close, Butt's health began to fail. His friend, the painter Francis Davis Millet, asked President Taft to give Butt a leave of absence to recover before the presidential election. Taft agreed and ordered Archibald to go on leave.

While serving with two presidents, Butt wrote letters to his fiancée Clara in Augusta. These letters are valued by contemporary scholars as the main source of information about the private lives of the two presidents, as well as an invaluable contribution to understanding the characters of Roosevelt and Taft.

Accompanying President Taft as he throws a baseball

In 1910, Taft opened major league baseball with the Minnesota Twins. From his seat, he threw the ball. In 1911, Taft played baseball with Archibald Butt. The next time they played baseball together was in 1912, four days before Butt's departure on the Titanic.

On board the Titanic

In the early spring of 1912, Butt's health deteriorated. President Taft gave him a six-week trip to Europe. Butt also had to personally deliver a message to Pope Pius X. Francis Davis Millet accompanied him on vacation. On April 10, 1912, Butt boarded the Titanic for the return to the US, Millett boarded the ship at Cherbourg the same day. On the night of April 14-15, when the Titanic collided with an iceberg, Butt played cards in a class 1 smoking room. The ship sank at 2:20 am.

Butt's actions that night are not known for certain. According to some reports, Captain Edward John Smith informed him that the ship was doomed, and there were not enough boats. Butt immediately began to act as another officer, helping women and children. One officer said that the major helped desperate women up on deck. Walter Lord, in A Night to Remember, disagreed that Butt acted as an official, arguing that he was simply overseeing the evacuation. Butt died in a shipwreck; the body was not found.

memorial service

Since Butt's body was not found, a cenotaph was erected in section 3 of the Arlington National Cemetery. On May 2, 1912, 1,500 people, including President Taft, attended a memorial service at the Butt family home. He said:

In 1913, the Millet Butt Memorial Fountain was erected in Presidential Park near the White House. In Augusta, in 1914, Taft dedicated the Butt Memorial Bridge.

A large plaque dedicated to Major Archibald Butt has been unveiled at Washington Cathedral. It can also be found in the Store Museum.

In literature

Butt appears to play an important role in author Jack Finney's novel Between the Three Times. In it, Batt is sent to Europe by President Roosevelt in order to prevent a world war. Realizing that the war will not take place, he goes on the Titanic to the United States. During the crash of the ship, Batt is offered a place on the boat, but he refuses and dies along with the ship.