RESEARCH ARTICLES

Christmas in Hannibal, Missouri-Margaret’s Childhood Margaret Tobin (later Brown) celebrated her very first Christmas in Hannibal, Missouri. She was born in 1867, just after the Civil War, to hard working Irish immigrants John and Johanna Tobin. When Margaret was three years old, Christmas became a United States holiday. Christmas trees became popular in England and…

While the Molly Brown House Museum, aka the House of Lions at 1340 Pennsylvania Avenue in Denver, is undeniably the most famous residence of Margaret Brown, this was not the only house which she spent her time in. After she separated from J.J. in 1909, Margaret not only traveled even more than she had before,…

Fifty years ago, on December 11th, 1970, a non-profit officially incorporated as Historic Denver, Inc.  Concerned citizens had watched the demolition of several iconic Denver buildings in years prior, so this group banded together and started with saving 1340 Pennsylvania Street.  Designed by William Lang and occupied by Titanic survivor and social activist Margaret Tobin…

Armistice Day, 1918. Courtesy of Denver Public Library 102 years ago, a powerful strain of the flu swept the globe, infecting one third of the world’s population. Despite being called the Spanish Flu, is believed to have begun at US Army Camp Funston in Kansas earlier in 1918, and spread across the world via troop…

Giving thanks for a special event, for home and for family has a long tradition in the cultures across the world, but the American idea and tradition of Thanksgiving Day for Margaret Brown’s family and for many of us has evolved from simple proclamations of thanksgiving to God to an event centered around the home,…

Throughout 2020, we have been commemorating the centennial of the passage of the 19th Amendment which made it possible for most women to vote. Did you know that this year Colorado women will be celebrating 127 years of voting? On November 7th, Colorado marks the anniversary of the 1893 referendum which gave the women of…

Victorians were curious people interested in nature, the sciences, anatomy, botany, and morbidity. For upper-class citizens, collecting scientific objects showed that they were sophisticated and educated. The Victorians were interested, some even to the point of obsession, in beauty, death, and finding rare items that were visually appealing. Some collections were so extensive that they…

It is a well-known fact that Margaret Brown traveled to many places throughout the world. From New York to India, Paris to Moscow, she visited dozens of places over the course of her life, often picking up artifacts, art and inspiration along the way. One of the most striking and prominent examples of this in…

Claiming the World As Victorian women began looking towards the larger world, they also demanded to be recognized in the arts and sciences.  Traveling in the 1900s was a man’s pursuit and women were not admitted to the professional and academic organizations that funded travel expeditions.  London’s prestigious Royal Geographical Society stated, “The professional female…

“A lady explorer?  A traveler in skirts? The notion’s just a trifle too seraphic: Let them stay and mind the babies Or hem our ragged shirts; But they mustn’t, can’t and shan’t be geographic.” Letter to the Royal Geographic Society, June 1893 Who was the Intrepid Woman Traveler? By the 19th century, a new…

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.- The 19th Amendment The passage of the 19th amendment in 1920 was a seminal moment for women’s rights and voting rights in the United States. When combined…

When Historic Denver, Inc. bought the Molly Brown House in 1970, it had been emptied of Brown-owned objects and was being used as a boarding house. With restoration efforts and donations from descendants, Margaret’s renters, donors and others who had bought the objects in the house, museum curators have been able to verify and replace…