Eleanor Elkins Widener

Eleanor Elkins Widener
Born
Eleanore Elkins[note 1]

September 21, 1861[1] or May 21, 1862[2]
Died(1937-07-13)July 13, 1937 (aged 75)
Resting placeLaurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia[2]
Known forGift of Widener Library at Harvard University
Spouses
Children
Parents
Signature

Eleanor Elkins Widener (née Eleanore Elkins,[note 1] later known as Eleanor Elkins Widener Rice or Mrs. Alexander Hamilton Rice; c. 1862–1937) was an American heiress, socialite, philanthropist, and adventuress best remembered for her donation to Harvard University of the Widener Library‍—‌a memorial to her elder son Harry Elkins Widener, who (along with her first husband, George Dunton Widener) perished in the sinking of the RMS Titanic.

Widener later married Harvard professor Alexander Hamilton Rice Jr., a surgeon and explorer, then accompanied him on a number of expeditions, including one on which she "went further up the Amazon than any white woman had penetrated" and, purportedly, he was attacked by cannibals.


Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference titanica_eleanor_widener was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference tittit was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference american_kennel_club was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Mrs. Widener Dixon, Philanthropist, 74". The New York Times. January 14, 1966. p. 39.