Rise and Fall of America's Most Cursed Gilded Age Family | Documentary

Rise and Fall of America's Most Cursed Gilded Age Family | Documentary ​​A twenty seven year old book collector named Harry Elkins Widener boarded the most famous ship ever built. His father George came along. So did his mother Eleanor. They had spent weeks in Europe buying rare books and visiting old friends. Now they were going home. Harry carried a small leather case. Inside was a fifteen ninety eight edition of Francis Bacon's essays. He had paid two hundred sixty pounds for it in London. He joked to a friend that if the ship went down, at least he would have something to read. The ship was the Titanic. Harry's grandfather had helped pay for it. Peter Arrell Browne Widener was one of the investors behind the International Mercantile Marine Company, the trust that controlled the White Star Line. He had made his fortune in streetcars and steel. By nineteen twelve, he was one of the forty richest Americans who ever lived. He owned a hundred and ten room mansion filled with Rembrandts and Raphaels. He had dined with presidents. He had built an empire. Source Material Visual material used in this production is obtained from publicly accessible archives, including the Library of Congress and open-license collections on Wikimedia Commons. Copyright & Fair Use Notice This channel incorporates copyrighted material under the principles of Fair Use as recognized by U.S. law. Under Section 107 of the United States Copyright Act, certain uses of copyrighted works such as for analysis, commentary, educational purposes, research, and reporting are permitted without prior authorization from the copyright holder. #harrywidener #titanic #gildedage