George Dunton Widener

Widener was born in Philadelphia on June 16, 1861. He was the eldest son of Hannah Josephine Dunton (1836–1896) and Peter Arrell Brown Widener (1834–1915),{{cite news|title=P.A.B. WIDENER, CAPITALIST, DIES; Traction and Tobacco Financier Expires at 80 at His Home in Elkins Park. LEFT ABOUT $35,000,000 Philanthropist and Patron of the Arts Began His Career in Philadelphia as a Butcher.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1915/11/07/archives/pab-widener-capitalist-dies-traction-and-tobacco-financier-expires.html|access-date=17 May 2017|work=The New York Times|date=7 November 1915}} an extremely wealthy streetcar magnate.{{cite news|title=A CABLE TRACTION COMPANY.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1883/08/23/archives/a-cable-traction-company.html|access-date=17 May 2017|work=The New York Times|date=23 August 1883}}

He joined his father's business and eventually took over the running of the Philadelphia Traction Company, overseeing the development of cable and electric streetcar operations. He also served on the board of directors of several important area businesses, including Philadelphia Traction Co., Land Title Bank and Trust Co., Electric Storage Battery Co., and Portland Cement Co. A patron of the arts, Widener was a director of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.

In 1912, Widener, his wife, and their son Harry traveled to Paris, France, with original intentions to find a chef for Widener's new Philadelphia hotel, The Ritz Carlton. The Wideners booked their return passage on RMS Titanic. After the ship struck an iceberg, Widener placed his wife and her maid Amalie Gieger{{Cite web |title=Eleanor Widener : Titanic Survivor |url=https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-survivor/eleanor-widener.html |access-date=2022-03-18 |website=www.encyclopedia-titanica.org |language=en}} in a lifeboat. The women were rescued by the steamship RMS Carpathia, but Widener and his son Harry and their valet Edwin Keeping{{Cite web |title=Eleanor Widener : Titanic Survivor |url=https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-survivor/eleanor-widener.html |access-date=2022-03-18 |website=www.encyclopedia-titanica.org |language=en}} perished on the Titanic.{{cite news|title=42 OF THE TITANIC'S VICTIMS IDENTIFIED; Total Number of Bodies Recovered Near Scene of Disaster Reaches Seventy-seven.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1912/04/24/archives/42-of-the-titanics-victims-identified-total-number-of-bodies.html|access-date=17 May 2017|work=The New York Times|date=24 April 1912}} The bodies of the father and son, if recovered, were not identified.{{cite news|title=FUNERAL SHIP NOW ON WAY TO HALIFAX; Sends Message That G.D. Widener's Body Is Among Those Recovered.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1912/04/26/archives/funeral-ship-now-on-way-to-halifax-sends-message-that-gd-wideners.html|access-date=17 May 2017|work=The New York Times|date=26 April 1912}}

In 1883, he married Eleanor Elkins,{{cite news|title=MRS. G. D. WIDENER TO MARRY DR. RICE; South American Explorer to Wed Widow of Titanic Victim in Boston on Oct. 14. HER MEMORIAL GIFTS Philadelphia Society Woman Noted for Her Beauty and Jewels;- Dr. Rice's Scientific Achievements.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1915/10/06/archives/mrs-g-d-widener-to-marry-dr-rice-south-american-explorer-to-wed.html|access-date=17 May 2017|work=The New York Times|date=6 October 1915}} the daughter of his father's business partner, William Lukens Elkins.{{cite news|title=PEARLS FOR MRS. WIDENER.; Philadelphia Hears She Is to Get the $750,000 Necklace.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1909/12/22/archives/pearls-for-mrs-widener-philadelphia-hears-she-is-to-get-the-750000.html|access-date=17 May 2017|work=The New York Times|date=22 December 1909}} Together, they had two sons and a daughter:

• Harry Elkins Widener (1885–1912), who died aboard the Titanic.{{cite news|title=MRS. A.H. RICE GIVES HILL SCHOOL $300,000; Memorial Building for Son, Harry Widener, Will Provide Means for Boys to Develop Hobbies.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1929/04/05/archives/mrs-ah-rice-gives-hill-school-300000-memorial-building-for-son.html|access-date=17 May 2017|work=The New York Times|date=5 April 1929}}
• George Dunton Widener Jr. (1889–1971),{{cite news|title=George Widener, Racing Figure, Dies at 82|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/12/09/archives/george-widener-racing-fig-ure-dies-at-82.html|access-date=17 May 2017|work=The New York Times|date=9 December 1971}} who married Jessie Sloane Dodge (1883–1968){{cite news|title=Mrs. George Widener, 84, Wife. of Sportsman, Dies|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1968/03/12/archives/mrs-george-widener-84-i-wife-of-sportsman-dies.html|access-date=17 May 2017|work=The New York Times|date=12 March 1968}} in 1917.{{cite news|title=MRS. W. EARL DODGE WEDS G.D. WIDENER; Divorcee, the Elder Daughter of Henry T. Sloane, Is Married in Her Home. FEW AT THE CEREMONY Young Philadelphian, Son of Late Financier, and His Bride Leave for South on Honeymoon.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1917/03/21/archives/mrs-w-earl-dodge-weds-gd-widener-divorcee-the-elder-daughter-of.html|access-date=17 May 2017|work=The New York Times|date=21 March 1917}}
• Eleanor Widener (1891–1966),{{cite news|title=MRS. WIDENER DIXON, PHILANTHROPIST, 74|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1966/01/14/archives/mrs-widener-dixon-philanthropist-74.html|access-date=17 May 2017|work=The New York Times|date=14 January 1966}} who married Fitz Eugene Dixon on June 19, 1912.{{cite news|title=MISS WIDENER ENGAGED.; Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George D. Widener to Marry Fitz Eugene Dixon.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1912/02/03/archives/miss-widener-engaged-daughter-of-mr-and-mrs-george-d-widener-to.html|access-date=17 May 2017|work=The New York Times|date=3 February 1912}}{{cite news|last1=Times|first1=Special To The New York|title=MISS E. E. WIDENER WEDS; Simple Ceremony for Daughter of Late G. D. Widener and F. E. Dixon.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1912/06/20/archives/miss-e-e-widener-weds-simple-ceremony-for-daughter-of-late-g-d.html|access-date=17 May 2017|work=The New York Times|date=20 June 1912}} Eleanor sued Dixon for divorce in 1936.{{cite news|title=SUES FITZ EUGENE DIXON; Wife, Widener Kin, Asks Divorce at Norristown, Pa.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1936/09/30/archives/sues-fitz-eugene-dixon-wife-widener-kin-asks-divorce-at-norristown.html|access-date=17 May 2017|work=The New York Times|date=30 September 1936}}{{cite news|title=MARRIES AFTER DIVORCE; Mrs. H. W. Road Weds Fitz E. Dixon in Reno|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1937/03/28/archives/marries-after-divorce-mrs-h-w-road-weds-fitz-e-dixon-in-reno.html|access-date=17 May 2017|work=The New York Times|date=28 March 1937}}{{cite news|title=PHILADELPHIA YACHTS GO INTO NAVY SERVICE; Mrs. Eleanor Widener Dixon and H.L. Adams Turn Over Boats|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1942/01/04/archives/philadelphia-yachts-go-into-navy-service-mrs-eleanor-widener-dixon.html|access-date=17 May 2017|work=The New York Times|date=4 January 1942}}

After Widener and his son's death aboard the Titanic, a memorial service was held at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, where stained glass windows were dedicated in their memory.{{cite news|title=P.A.B. WIDENER GIVES $4,000,000 TO SCHOOL; Endowment Is Announced Coincident with the Filing of His Son's and Grandson's Wills.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1912/05/21/archives/pab-widener-gives-4000000-to-school-endowment-is-announced.html|access-date=17 May 2017|work=The New York Times|date=21 May 1912}}{{cite news|title=FOR WIDENER MEMORIAL.; Cornerstone Laid by Mother of Titanic Victim -- Harvard Prizes.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1913/06/17/archives/for-widener-memorial-cornerstone-laid-by-mother-of-titanic-victim.html|access-date=17 May 2017|work=The New York Times|date=17 June 1913}}{{cite news|title=WIDENER PLANS MEMORIAL.; Will Add to the Home for Crippled Children at Philadelphia.|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9B05E5DD103AE633A2575BC2A9629C946396D6CF|access-date=17 May 2017|work=The New York Times|date=28 April 1912}}

He was the maternal grandfather of Fitz Eugene Dixon Jr. (1923–2006). Dixon, who lived in Philadelphia, owned the Philadelphia 76ers and was a part owner of the Eagles, the Phillies and the Flyers.{{cite news|title=Fitz Dixon Jr., Who Signed Dr. J, Dies at 82|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/05/sports/basketball/05dixon.html|access-date=17 May 2017|work=The New York Times|date=5 August 2006}}

Widener had commissioned Horace Trumbauer to design and oversee construction of Miramar, a {{convert|30000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} French neoclassical-style mansion bordering Bellevue Avenue on Aquidneck Island at Newport, Rhode Island. Intended as a summer home, it was still in the design stage at the time of his death.[http://www.projo.com/news/content/miramar2_12-02-06_4735C89.2e0ae46.html Providence Journal- December 2, 2006]

Widener was played by Guy Standing, Jr. in the film Titanic (1953).

• Widener Gold Medal

{{reflist}}

{{Wikisource|The Cyclopædia of American Biography/Widener, George Dunton|George Dunton Widener}}

• [http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/biography/315/ Mr George Dunton Widener, Encyclopedia Titanica]
• {{Cite CAB|wstitle= Widener, George Dunton |volume= |last= Homans |first= James E. |author-link= |page= |short=}}
• Titanic: Triumph and Tragedy, by John P. Eaton and Charles A. Haas, W.W. Newton & Company, 2nd edition 1995 {{ISBN|0-393-03697-9}}
• A Night to Remember, by Walter Lord, ed. Nathaniel Hilbreck, Owl Books, rep. 2004, {{ISBN|0-8050-7764-2}}

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{{RMS Titanic}}

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Category:1861 births

Category:1912 deaths

Category:American transportation businesspeople

Category:Businesspeople from Philadelphia

Category:Deaths by drowning

Category:People associated with the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

Category:People associated with the Philadelphia Museum of Art

Category:People from Cheltenham, Pennsylvania

Category:Deaths on the RMS Titanic

Category:Widener family

Category:20th-century American businesspeople

Category:19th-century American businesspeople