Birthday of Margaret Brown in Hannibal, MO. She led an extremely interesting life, which included being a passenger on the Titanic, and was made famous in the Broadway show and movie called The Unsinkable Molly Brown, named in part for stories about her unbreakable spirit during the ship’s sinking. She was portrayed by Kathy Bates in James Cameron’s 1997 film Titanic. You can read more about her in our article, “Missourians on the Titanic.”

This post was contributed by Ross Malone. A historian and a retired school teacher, Ross has authored many books about Missouri’s history, weird facts, and folk tales. He has also written children’s historical fiction. Visit his website, and buy his books in the Missouri Life store.