 |
| Francis D. Millet |
Francis Davis Millet, First-Class passenger
Born: November 3, 1848 in Mattapoisett, Massachusetts
Occupation: Author, Painter, Sculptor
Married: Elizabeth Merrill, 4 children
Boarded at: Cherbourg, France
Traveled with: Major Archibald Butt
Ticket #13509, Cost £26, 11s
Cabin: E-38
Died: April 15, 1912, age 63
Body #249, recovered by the Mackay-Bennett
******
At age 15, Francis Davis Millet served in the Civil War in the 60th Massachusetts Infantry, first as a drummer boy, then as a surgical assistant to his father who was a surgeon. His birthdate was debated until it was revealed in a diary that he kept during his military service which verified an entry on November 3, 1864 that he celebrated his 16th birthday.
Millet graduated from Harvard with a Master of Arts degree, became a reporter for the Boston Courier and later its editor. During the Centennial Exposition in 1876, he was a correspondent for The Advertiser. His hobby was drawing portraits of friends and after the war, he decided to seriously study art at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, Belgium. He was awarded a silver medal the first year, and a gold medal in the second year. He traveled often, making his experiences pay him for the pleasure of traveling because he worked for the New York Herald, the London Daily News, and the London Graphic.
He once said if he didn't have a passion for something, then he did not excel in it. He enjoyed doing things that he was good at, and he was good at the things he enjoyed doing.
As a correspondent for several publications, he published accounts of his war experiences while under fire in the Russian Turkish war, in addition to writing short stories and doing Tolstoy translations. He was a decorated artist and sculptor, and his work is on display at the Baltimore Customs House, Trinity Church in Boston, and the Capitol buildings in Wisconsin and Minnesota. He used the color red liberally in his paintings and suggested the reason was due to his exposure to blood during the war.
He was the superintendent of decoration for the Columbian Exhibition at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893. He traveled widely to work on other worlds' fairs in Vienna, Paris, and Tokyo. He became one of the founders of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and suggested the appointment of its first dean, Emil Otto Grundmann, his old friend from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, Belgium.
Millet was a close friend of author Mark Twain who was best man at his wedding to Elizabeth "Lily"Merrill in Paris 1879. The couple had four children and his daughter Kate was a frequent model for John Singer Aargeant, a famous portrait artist.
In 1907 Millet designed the Civl War medal for the War Department and the 1908 Spanish Campaign Medal. In 1910, he was a founding member and vice chairman of the US Commission of Fine Arts until his death in 1912 aboard the Titanic. He was traveling to Washington from France to attend a meeting with President Taft to choose the site and the architect for the Lincoln Memorial.
Although Millet was married with children, for the majority of his married life, he lived with Major Archibald Butt, White House military aide to US Presidents Roosevelt and Taft. Though they were nearly 20 years apart in age, Millet had known Butt since his early newspaper days.
In 1911, Butt bought a mansion at 2000 "G" Street NW in Washington DC and Millet immediately moved in with him. Though Butt bought the home, their friends referred to it as their home.
Butt and Millet were famous for their parties that were well attended by Congressmen, Supreme Court Justices and even President Taft. Speculation about their relationship was always implied, but never discussed openly. Butt referred to Millet as "my artist friend who lives with me."
British historian Richard Davenport-Hines wrote in 2012 that the "enduring partnership of Butt and Millet was an early case of 'don't ask, don't tell.' Washington insiders chose not to focus on their relationship, but they recognized their mutual affection. They were together in death as they were in life."
In early 1912, Major Butt's health began to suffer due to the stress of being the middleman of quarrels between Roosevelt and Taft. Millet suggested he take a leave of absence for six weeks. Together Butt and Millet sailed to Europe and spent time in Rome and other countries. In 1912, Butt was 46 years old, Millet was 64.
As First Class passengers, Butt boarded Titanic in Southampton on April 10, 1912 and Millet, delayed by an appointment, boarded at Cherbourg France later that afternoon. Butt was popular and well known as a favorite guest at social events. Millet's career was also renowned when he boarded Titanic.
Millet didn't think too much of the other people on the ship, according to a letter he mailed in Queenstown, mentioning that there were "a number of obnoxious American women," calling them "the scourge of any place they infest and were worse on shipboard than anywhere else." He also noted that there were many passengers who brought along "their tiny dogs and others who led their husbands around like pet lambs."
Butt's final moments on Titanic had many different versions, some were utterly fantastic and sensational, while other versions revered him for his kindness to departing women and children. Most of the versions were largely unverifiable, however, at lease one woman remembered Millet helping women and children into lifeboats.
Millet's body was found by the crew of the MacKay Bennett recovery ship whose paperwork identified Millet's body as:
"No. 249-Male - Estimated Age, 65. Hair - Grey. Clothing - Light overcoat, black plants, grey jacket, evening clothing. Effects: Gold watch and chain; "F.D.M." engraved on watch, glasses, two gold studs, silver tablet bottle, some money in a gold and silver in a pocketbook."
Millet's body was returned to Boston and he was buried at Saint John's Central Cemetery, in Bridgewater, Massachusetts.
Butt's body was never found.
In 1913, the Butt-Millet Memorial Fountain was erected in Washington DC in their memory. Millet's diary is at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC. His murals and portraits survive. His essays and short stories are timeless and available at most public libraries.
Please give your friends our link so they can enjoy reading our posts too. Thanks!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for your comment