Object Details
maker
Flanagan, John
Description
Founded in 1904 by wealthy financier Andrew Carnegie in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission (CHFC) exists to honor acts of individual civilian heroism in the United States and Canada. It is still active today; recipients include both the living, the dead, and persons directly affected by the loss of a heroic relative.
The emotional impact on the general public of the April 1912 loss of the ocean liner Titanic was astonishing, and the continually updated story lasted for months in the contemporary newspapers. In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the Commission felt inspired to honor all the heroes who had risked their lives in the rescue of the 700 passengers, so at their April 26, 1912 meeting they authorized a nine-oz. 22-k gold medal to be struck, mounted in an elaborate bronze base, inscribed and presented to the Smithsonian. The Smithsonian accepted the gift and displayed it before adding it to the National Numismatic Collection in the National Museum of American History.
Location
Currently not on view
Credit Line
Carnegie Hero Fund Commission
date made
ca 1912
ID Number
NU.13650
accession number
54893
catalog number
13650
Object Name
medal
Physical Description
bronze (overall; frame material)
gold (overall: medal material)
brass (overall; frame inscritption area material)
Measurements
overall: 15 in x 13 in x 3 1/2 in; 38.1 cm x 33.02 cm x 8.89 cm
place made
United States: Connecticut, Bridgeport
United States: Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
See more items in
Work and Industry: National Numismatic Collection
Coins, Currency and Medals
Transportation
Titanic
Data Source
National Museum of American History
Link to Original Record
Record ID
nmah_1415388
