Karl Howell Behr

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Karl Howell Behr (born May 30, 1885 in Brooklyn , New York , † October 15, 1949 in Morristown , New Jersey ) was an American tennis player and banker and survivor of the sinking of the Titanic .

Life

Behr was born to Herman Behr and his wife Grace (née Howell). His siblings were Margaret, Gertrude, Herman Jr., Frederick and Max Behr, all of whom had their mother's maiden name as their middle name .

Behr graduated from Yale University . In 1907 he won the Intercollegiate Championship in doubles. He was also together with his compatriot Beals Wright in the final of the doubles competition of Wimbledon 1907 against Norman Brookes and Tony Wilding . They lost in three sets with 4: 6, 4: 6 and 2: 6.

In 1912, 26-year-old Behr was on a business trip in Europe when he heard that Helen Newsom, a friend of his sister, was traveling back to the United States as a passenger on the Titanic . Behr, who was in love with Newsom, hoped to be closer to her and also booked a 1st class ticket from Cherbourg . Contrary to the wishes of Mrs. RL Beckwith, the mother of 19 year old Helen Newsom, Karl Behr continued the relationship.

On the night of the sinking of the Titanic , April 14-15, 1912, Behr conducted Helen, her mother and a couple of friends, Mr. and Mrs. Kimball from Boston ( Massachusetts ) onto the boat deck. Together, the group made it into lifeboat No. 5, which was launched second at 00.55 on the starboard side .

In New York City arrived founded Behr and other passengers of the first class, including Molly Brown , a committee to Captain Arthur Rostron of the RMS Carpathia honor. Rostron received a silver cup, the remaining 320 team members the Carpathia medals .

On July 18, 1912, he met Richard Williams for the first time in a tournament in Boston , whom he had met after the sinking of the Titanic on the Carpathia .

On March 1, 1913, barely a year after the fall, Karl Howell Behr and Helen Monypeny Newsom married in the Church of the Transfiguration in New York. The couple had four children, three sons and a daughter:

  • Karl Howell Behr, Jr. (1914 - August 10, 2002)
  • Peter Howell Behr (born May 24, 1915 - March 10, 1997)
  • James Howell Behr (born July 16, 1920 - † June 14, 1976)
  • Sally Howell Behr, later Mrs. Samuel Leonard Pettit (* March 8, 1928, † September 1995)

Karl Howell Behr later became a banker and early became Vice President of Dillon, Read & Company. He has also served on numerous boards of directors, including the Fisk Rubber Company, the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, and the National Cash Register Company . He was also a director at Interchemical Corporation, Behr-Manning Corporation of Troy, NY, and Witherbee and Sherman Mining Company.

Karl Howell Behr died of natural causes in 1949 at the age of 64. Behr was posthumously inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1969.

Helen Behr married again; one of Karl's best friends and tennis partners, Dean Mathey. She died in Princeton in 1965 at the age of 73 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Heiko Oldoerp: Two US tennis players survived the sinking of the Titanic: Karl Behr and Richard Williams met again after being rescued on the court , broadcast in the program Sport am Sonntag on April 15, 2012 on Deutschlandfunk ( archive version ( memento from 21 April 2012 on WebCite ))
personal data
SURNAME Behr, Karl Howell
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American tennis player and banker as well as survivor of the sinking of the "Titanic"
DATE OF BIRTH May 30, 1885
PLACE OF BIRTH Brooklyn , New York , United States
DATE OF DEATH October 15, 1949
Place of death Morristown , New Jersey , United States