Edward Austin Kent
| Edward Austin Kent | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
February 19, 1854 Bangor, Maine |
| Died |
April 15, 1912 (aged 58) RMS Titanic (sunk), Atlantic Ocean |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater |
Yale University École des Beaux-Arts in Paris |
| Occupation | Architect |
Edward Austin Kent (February 19, 1854 – April 15, 1912) was a prominent architect in Buffalo, New York. Kent died on April 15, 1912 when the RMS Titanic sank and was seen helping women and children into the lifeboats.[1]
Biography
Edward Austin Kent was born in Bangor, Maine on February 19, 1854. Kent moved with his family to Buffalo after the American Civil War, where his father opened a successful department store, Flint & Kent. Kent attended and graduated from Yale in 1875 and later the École des Beaux-Arts, the famous Beaux-Arts architecture school in Paris. Returning to the U.S. in 1877, he became junior partner in the Syracuse, New York firm of Silsbee and Kent. In 1884 he returned to Buffalo and remained there for the rest of his career, helping to found the Buffalo Society of Architects and receiving many prominent commissions, including Flint & Kent.[2]
In 1912, he took a two-month vacation to France and Egypt and planned on retiring after returning home. He decided to delay his trip home so he could travel on the maiden voyage of the new and luxurious ocean liner, the RMS Titanic.
Aboard the Titanic
Kent traveled as a first-class passenger. He mingled with the other socialites, including Helen Churchill Candee and Archibald Gracie. He also met on occasion with a writers group. He perished when the ship struck an iceberg and sank on the night of April 14–15, 1912. As the ship was sinking, he disregarded his own safety to help women and children into the lifeboats. He was last seen at around 2:20 a.m. making no attempts to save himself as he was swept into the ocean. His body was recovered by the CS Mackay-Bennett as body No. 258 and claimed by his brother when the ship docked. He was laid to rest in the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Buffalo, New York.[1]
Notable Works
- Temple Beth Zion (destroyed) - erected in 1890 at 599 Delaware Avenue in Buffalo, New York. Destroyed on October 4, 1961, when a fire fueled by flammable liquids being used to refinish the pews, destroyed the building.[3]
- Chemical No. 5 Firehouse - erected in 1894 in the Art Nouveau style at 166 Cleveland Avenue in Buffalo, New York.
- Otto-Kent Building - erected in 1896 in the Beaux-Arts style at 636-644 Main Street in Buffalo, New York adjacent to Shea's Buffalo for his father's department store, Flint & Kent
- Unitarian Universalist Church of Buffalo - erected in 1906 in the English Gothic style at 695 Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo, New York and listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 30, 2015.[4]
Coordinates: 42°55′30″N 78°51′45″W / 42.925113°N 78.862513°W
See also
References
- 1 2 "Mr. Edward Austin Kent". Encyclopedia Titanica.
- ↑ Parke, Bill. "Edward Austin Kent in Buffalo, NY". buffaloah.com.
- ↑ "Temple Beth Zion". buffaloah.com. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
- ↑ "National Register of Historic Place Listings". nps.gov. National Register of Historic Places. Retrieved 1 September 2015.