Benjamin Guggenheim: Famous Titanic Victim
26 October 1865 – 15 April 1912
Above: A portrait of Benjamin Guggenheim, the American mining magnate who perished in the Titanic tragedy.
26 October 1865 – the date of Benjamin Guggenheim’s birth, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to mining magnate Meyer Guggenheim (1828–1905) and Barbara (née Myers) Guggenheim (1834–1900).
10 – the number of children born to Meyer and Barbara Guggenheim, seven sons and three daughters (Benjamin was the fifth son).
Did You Know?
Benjamin Guggenheim’s parents were both Jewish, with his father originating from Lengnau, Aargau, Switzerland, and his mother from Germany.
1882 – the year Guggenheim enrolled at Columbia College, the first in his family to attend a higher education institution.
2 – the number of years that he attended Columbia, before dropping out due to a lack of interest.
5 – the number of Meyer and Barbara’s sons – including Benjamin – who were active in the family mining and smelting businesses.
20 – Benjamin’s age when Meyer Guggenheim sent him to take charge of the family’s mining operations in Leadvilie, Colorado.
24 October 1894 – the date Guggenheim married Florette Seligman (1870-1937) in Southampton, Long Island, New York.
24 – Florette’s age on her wedding day.
27 Feb 1870 – the date Florette was born, to James Seligman – senior partner in the banking house J. & W. Seligman & Co. – and Rosa (née Confent) Seligman.
3 – the number of children born to Florette and Benjamin, all daughters: Benita Rosalind Guggenheim (1895–1927), Marguerite “Peggy” Guggenheim (1898–1979), and Barbara Hazel Guggenheim (1903–1995).
Did You Know?
Guggenheim’s own business interests were in silver mines and silver smelting works. He would eventually earn the nickname Silver Prince.
1910 – the year in which Benjamin gave up his rights to the family fortune, terminating his partnership of the Guggenheim mining empire before starting his own business.
Did You Know?
Absorbed by his business concerns, Guggenheim grew increasingly distant from Florette, and spent a lot of time away from the family home in New York City. He later kept an apartment in Paris, France, where he started an affair with the French singer Léontine Pauline Aubart (1887-1964) – often known as “Ninette”.
21 years – the age difference between Benjamin and Léontine.
24 – Léontine’s age at the time of the sinking.
Those Englishmen, still with cigarettes in mouth, facing the death so bravely that it was all the more terrible – Léontine Aubart, reflecting on the conduct of the men who remained on the ship
4 – the number of people who accompanied Guggenheim on Titanic; his manservant Victor Giglio (1888–1912), his “mistress” Léontine, her maid Emma Sägesser (1887–1964), and his chauffeur René Pernot (1872–1912). Guggenheim and Giglio shared a first class cabin, as did Aubart and Sägesser, whilst Pernot travelled second class.
17593 – the number of Guggenheim and Giglio’s ticket.
B84 – the number of Guggenheim and Giglio’s cabin.
£79 4s – the cost of the ticket (some sources quote the price as £56 18s 7d).
Did You Know?
Léontine Aubert is represented in the James Cameron movie, Titanic, appearing in a first class dining scene and played by Fannie Brett in a non-speaking role.
17477 – the number of Aubart and Sägesser’s ticket.
B35 – the number of Aubart and Sägesser’s cabin.
£69 6s – the cost of the ticket.
Did You Know?
Guggenheim was alerted to the accident by Henry Samuel Etches (1868-1944), his bedroom steward (who was himself asleep at the time of the collision, and who later survived aboard lifeboat 5). After Guggenheim and Giglio had dressed, and their lifejackets were placed upon them, Etches pulled sweaters over the top.
46 – the age at which Benjamin Guggenheim died in the sinking.
45 minutes – the approximate time after the collision that Etches spotted Guggenheim and Giglio on deck, who by now had removed both the sweaters and lifebelts, revealing full evening dress.
We’ve dressed up in our best and are prepared to go down like gentlemen – Benjamin Guggenheim to Henry Samuel Etches, after the latter remarked upon the evening dress that Guggenheim and Giglio were later seen wearing upon deck
9 – the number of the lifeboat aboard which Aubart and Sägesser are believed to have survived, delivered safely to the Carpathia.
£4,000 – the value of jewels that Léontine Aubart had to leave behind, along with “many trunks of dresses and hats” – as detailed in the insurance claim for lost belongings she would later raise.
77 – the age at which Léontine Aubart died, on 29 October 1964, and 52 years after the disaster.
Did You Know?
Guggenheim’s body, if it was ever recovered from the North Atlantic, was never identified.
19 April 1912 – the date on which crew member Etches visited Florette Guggenheim in New York. He arrived to personally deliver Benjamin’s final message for his wife, “If anything should happen to me, tell my wife in New York that I’ve done my best in doing my duty.”
41 – Florette Guggenheim’s age at the time of Benjamin’s death.
67 – the age at which Florette Guggenheim died, on 15 November 1937, and 25 years after the disaster.
If anything should happen to me, tell my wife in New York that I’ve done my best in doing my duty – Guggenheim’s last message, intended for Florette, as conveyed by James Etches, the bedroom steward who survived the sinking.
1/3 – the proprtion of his estate that Guggenheim left to his wife in his will.
2/3 – the proprtion of his estate that Guggenheim left to his 3 daughters.
$115,000 – the additional charitable donations contained in his will.
More To Explore
If you have enjoyed reading all about Benjamin Guggenheim, why not find out how many survived, explore facts about some of the other famous people on the Titanic, about the sinking of the Titanic, or find out where Titanic sank.