The Unsinkable Margaret Brown

As the owner of the Birthplace and Museum of Margaret Tobin Brown, in Hannibal, Missouri, I should point out an error on page 73 of the article about Leadville, Colorado (“Silver City,” April 2000). Johnny and Molly Brown existed only in Hollywood, and Mr. Brown wasn’t a silver king. James Joseph (J.J.) Brown never went by the name Johnny, hut he got rich serving as engineer of the Little Johnny gold mine in Leadville. Margaret never went by the name Molly, although this famous heroine of the Titanic has been known as Molly ever since Gene Fowler used that name in a book he wrote after her death in 1932.