Helen Churchill Candee facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Helen Churchill Candee
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Candee in 1901
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| Born |
Helen Churchill Hungerford
October 5, 1858 |
| Died | August 23, 1949 (aged 90) York Harbor, Maine
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| Spouse(s) |
Edward Willis Candee
(m. 1880; div. 1896) |
Helen Churchill Candee (born October 5, 1858 – died August 23, 1949) was an American author, journalist, and interior decorator. She was also a feminist who believed in equal rights for women, and a geographer who explored new places. Today, she is most famous for surviving the sinking of the RMS Titanic in 1912. She also became well-known for her travel writing and exploring in Southeast Asia.
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Early Life and Career Beginnings
Helen was born Helen Churchill Hungerford in New York City. Her parents were Henry and Mary Elizabeth Churchill. She spent most of her childhood in Connecticut. Helen married Edward Candee of Norwalk, Connecticut. They had two children, Edith and Harold.
When her marriage ended, Helen Candee needed to support herself and her children. She started writing for popular magazines like Scribner's and The Ladies' Home Journal. At first, she wrote about topics she knew well, like how to manage a household. But soon, she began writing about other subjects such as childcare, education, and women's rights. For several years, she lived in Oklahoma. Her stories about this region helped her become a well-known journalist across the country. She officially got a divorce in 1896.
Becoming a Professional Writer and Designer
Helen Candee was a strong supporter of women's rights, also known as a feminist. Her first book, How Women May Earn a Living (1900), became a bestseller. It showed how women could find ways to make money. Her second book, An Oklahoma Romance (1901), was a novel. It encouraged people to move to and settle in Oklahoma Territory.
As a recognized writer, Candee moved to Washington, D.C.. There, she became one of the first professional interior decorators. She helped design the inside of homes and offices. Some of her famous clients included the Secretary of War, Henry Stimson, and President Theodore Roosevelt. Candee's book, Decorative Styles and Periods (1906), shared her ideas about design. She believed in doing careful historical research to make sure her designs were truly authentic.
While living in Washington, Candee was also very active in social life. She served on many community groups and was involved in politics. She had many different kinds of friends. These included the liberal reformer William Jennings Bryan and the First Lady Helen Herron Taft. Her friendship with the Tafts lasted a long time, even though they had different ideas about women's rights. She was also close with President Theodore Roosevelt and his wife. The Roosevelts gave Candee two important decorating jobs. In 1907, she helped them choose chairs for the First Lady. In 1909, she worked with architect Nathan C. Wyeth to help redesign the White House's West Wing.
Candee was a trustee for the Corcoran Gallery of Art. She was also a member of the Archeological Society and the American Federation of Arts. She served on the board of the Washington chapter of the National Woman Suffrage Association. This group worked to get women the right to vote.
In her early years, Candee wrote stories for magazines like Good Housekeeping and Harper's Bazaar. Later, her articles focused on art, culture, and design. These appeared in magazines such as American Homes and International Studio. Candee also wrote for leading literary and political journals like Atlantic Monthly and The Century.
She wrote eight books in total. Four were about decorative arts, two were travel books, one was a guide, and one was a novel. Candee's most popular book was The Tapestry Book (1912), which was printed many times.
Aboard the Titanic
In the spring of 1912, Candee was in Europe. She was finishing research for her book, The Tapestry Book. Then, she received an urgent message from her daughter, Edith. It said that Candee's son, Harold ("Harry"), had been hurt in an accident. Helen quickly booked a ticket to return home on a new, luxurious ocean liner called the RMS Titanic.
During the voyage, she met and talked with other important travelers. These included Major Archibald Butt, who was President Taft's military aide, and the painter Francis Davis Millet.
When the Titanic began to sink, passengers were not allowed to take their luggage or personal items into the lifeboats. Candee gave two special items to a male friend, New York architect Edward Austin Kent. These were a small ivory picture of her mother and a tiny bottle of brandy. He put them in his pockets. Later, these items were found and, in 2006, they were sold at an auction for a lot of money. Candee was able to get into lifeboat 6. However, she fell and broke her ankle while getting in. Another famous first-class passenger, Margaret Brown (also known as "the unsinkable Molly Brown"), was also in this lifeboat. Both women helped to row the lifeboat.
After the rescue, Candee gave a short interview about her experience to the Washington Herald. She also wrote a detailed article about the disaster for Collier's Weekly. This article was featured on the cover and was one of the first in-depth stories from an eyewitness about the sinking.
Because of her Titanic injury, Candee had to use a cane for almost a year. But by March 1913, she was well enough to join other women's rights supporters in the "Votes for Women" parade. She rode her horse at the front of the procession down Pennsylvania Avenue (Washington, D.C.). The parade ended at the steps of Capitol Hill.
World War I and Asian Travels
During World War I, Candee worked as a nurse in Rome and Milan, Italy. She worked with the Italian Red Cross. They honored her for her service. One of her patients in Milan was the famous writer Ernest Hemingway.
After the war, she traveled to Japan, China, Indonesia, and Cambodia. Her adventures became the basis for two of her most famous books: Angkor the Magnificent (1924) and New Journeys in Old Asia (1927). The French government and the King of Cambodia honored Candee for these books. She was even asked to read from Angkor to King George V and Queen Mary at Buckingham Palace.
Angkor the Magnificent was the first major English book to study the ancient Khmer temple ruins of Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat is often called the "Lost City" or the "Wonder City." It is considered one of the greatest man-made wonders of the world. Most Westerners did not know about Angkor Wat until Candee's book was published. Her book's popularity helped create the modern tourism industry in Cambodia.
On her first trips to Southeast Asia in 1922-1923, Candee was joined by her son, Harry. They trekked through the jungles, which were dangerous at the time, with their local guide. They rode on a large elephant that Helen named "Effie." On later visits, her friend and illustrator, Lucille Douglass, joined her. While The Tapestry Book earned Candee the most money, Angkor the Magnificent received the most praise.
The success of Angkor and New Journeys led to a new career for Candee. She became a popular speaker about the Far East. She also continued her work as a journalist. For a short time, she was the Paris editor for Arts & Decoration magazine. She also stayed on that magazine's editorial team for several years.
In 1925, Candee was one of the nine people who started the Society of Woman Geographers. Even when she was almost 80 years old, in 1935–1936, Candee was still traveling abroad. She wrote articles for National Geographic magazine. Her first books on interior design, The Tapestry Book and Decorative Styles and Periods, were re-released in 1935 and 1938.
Later Life and Death
In 1949, Helen Churchill Candee died at her summer home in York Harbor, Maine. She was 90 years old.
Legacy and Tributes
Helen Churchill Candee was a character in the novel No Greater Love by Danielle Steel. This book was based on the sinking of the Titanic.
She was also shown in the Walt Disney 3-D documentary Ghosts of the Abyss (2003). This film was about producer James Cameron's trip to the Titanic wreck. Actress Adriana Valdez played Helen Candee. The movie recreated Candee's visit to the front of the ship the evening before it sank. This story, which might have been based on Candee's own writings, is thought to have inspired the famous romantic scene between Jack and Rose in the movie Titanic (1997).
Items that belonged to Helen Candee and were on the Titanic, like a small bottle and a locket, were sold for record amounts in 2005–2006. Letters and a manuscript believed to have inspired James Cameron were also sold by Candee's family. In 2007, Helen Candee's former home in Washington, D.C., was bought by The Fund for American Studies. In 2008, her book Angkor the Magnificent was re-released in a special edition. In 2009, the new Ambassador to Cambodia, Carol Rodley, gave a copy of the reissued Angkor to King Norodom Sihamoni when she arrived at the palace in Phnom Penh.
Images for kids
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Helen Candee, her son Harry, their guide, and "Effie" the elephant at Angkor Wat (1922)
