What Would Margaret Do? One Irish Catholic Woman’s Push for Equality
Margaret Tobin Brown, is a woman who can easily be defined as “beyond her years”. Her attitudes, thought process’ and motivations all seem to fall in line with a modern way of thinking, so to place her at the turn of the 20th century, truly highlights how radical her thinking was. Margaret was no stranger…
Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder: How Victorians Used Common Poisons to Become Drop Dead Gorgeous
The use of make-up, hair products and perfumes is not a modern notion; these types of bodily decoration have been around since well before the ancient Egyptians. While each culture and time period have interpreted their beauty routines differently, the Victorians took it to an entirely new, and dangerous, level. From the products they placed…
Good Bye Tomorrow and Hello Yesterday: Is Steampunk Truly Victorian?
Today, we think of steampunk as a movement-it entails literature, fashion, history, science and a little bit, alright-a lot, of imagination to form a blend of science fiction and fantasy that is based in the mid-Victorian Era. Coinciding with the rise of the American industrial revolution at the end of the 19th and beginning of the…
Victorian Horrors: Death and Mourning in the Time of Seperate Spheres
It could be said that Victorians had a morbid fascination with death. Historians have come to call this fascination the “cult of death”-which helped to define the period in which they lived for years to come. For Victorians, both in America and abroad, the home is not only a place to raise your family and…
Brains, Beauty and a dash of Self Confidence: How Margaret Helped Guide Me to the Woman I Became
I am for, all intents and purposes, a Colorado Native, which means I love near everything my state has to offer. From hiking through our purple mountain majesties, to kayaking on some of our most precious and invaluable resources, and most importantly, the vast and colored history that only a state like Colorado could offer!…
The Continuing Education of an Education Intern
My enthusiasm for history started pretty early on in life. On a family trip to Hawaii when I was in third or fourth grade, I remember complaining to my parents about all the time we had to spend at the beach, because all I wanted to do was visit the historic sites at Pearl Harbor….
The Later Years
The 1910s were a time of travel and political activism for Margaret Brown. She was actively involved in several causes, including the women’s suffrage movement, the push to improve miner’s and children’s rights, and she ran for U.S. Senate in 1914. During these years, she also spent time in France both during and after World…
Queer in the Age of the Queen: Gender and Sexuality of the Mid Modern Period in Victorian England and North America
This June the Molly Brown House Museum has created a Thirsty Thursday event to coincide with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Pride Month titled Queer in the Age of the Queen. These events are an opportunity for professionals to mingle while learning about the history of this time period. This event will take a look…
A 21st Century Girl with some Hope to Give
I’m not one to deny my guilt in all of the modern world’s most superficial pleasures: the minimal effort of “happy birthday” on a friend’s Facebook page, the impatience at the 90 seconds it takes to microwave a Hot Pocket, the occasional text snuck under a restaurant table, etc. What can I say? I’m a…
More than a “Rich Man’s Son”: Larry Brown
Over the course of his life, Lawrence Palmer “Larry” Brown was expelled from school, married and divorced his first wife twice, survived a gas attack in World War I, worked in the film industry and married a Hollywood star. Striving to emerge from the shadows cast by his famous parents, Larry succeeded in blazing his…
The Newport Years
By the turn of 20th century, Newport, Rhode Island had grown from an important east coast maritime center into the “Queen of American Resorts.” Newport was a summer retreat for America’s most wealthy; a place where gilded mansions dotted the coastline, and grandeur and opulence were in great abundance. Newport offered a cool seaside respite…
“I loved Jim”: J.J. Brown
When Margaret Tobin JJ Brown in 1908 arrived in Leadville in 1886, she hoped to marry a rich man to help take care of her and her parents. Instead she met James Joseph (J.J.) Brown, whose wealth and prospects weren’t much better than her own. Margaret would later recollect, “I loved Jim, but he was…