BUTT-MILLET Memorial Fountain (ca. 1913) in the NW portion of the Ellipse in Washington, D.C. by Daniel Chester French located in James M. Goode's The Ellipse area

Daniel Chester French(click name for more of that artist's work)
located in James M. Goode's The Ellipse area(click link for more in that area)Scroll down for 5 pictures
Click herefor more info

See also the Titanic Memorial

Major Archibald Willingham Butt(September 26, 1865 – April 15, 1912) was an influential military aide to U.S. presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft. Before becoming an aide to Roosevelt, Butt had pursued a career in journalism and served in the Spanish-American War. After a six week vacation in Europe in 1912, he boarded the ocean liner RMS Titanic. On the night of April 14 the Titanic struck an iceberg and sank the next morning with Butt being one of the 1,517 victims of the disaster. Stories of his actions while the ship was sinking made him one of the heroes of the disaster although they were largely unverified. Many accounts of a typically sensationalist nature were published by newspapers after the disaster. According to some accounts, Titanic captain Edward J. Smith informed Butt that the "ship was doomed" and that "lifeboats were being readied." Butt immediately began acting as another officer of the ship, herding women and children into the lifeboats. One account tells of Butt staving off desperate steerage men trying to crowd the boats to escape. Walter Lord's book A Night to Remember disagrees with claims that Butt acted like an officer, claiming he was more likely quietly observing the ship's evacuation Source: Wikipedia

Francis Davis Millet(November 3, 1846 - April 15, 1912) was an American painter and writer who died in the sinking of the RMS Titanic. Born in Mattapoisett, Massachusetts, Millet entered the Massachusetts regiment aged only sixteen, first as a drummer boy and then a surgical assistant (helping his father, a surgeon) in the American Civil War. He repeatedly pointed to his experience working for his father as giving him an appreciation for the vivid blood red that he repeatedly used in his early paintings. He worked as a reporter and editor for the Boston Courier and then as a correspondent for the "Advertiser" at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. Source: Wikipedia

Photos courtesy of the National Park Service, President's Park.
Submitted by Ronda Bernstein on behalf of the NPS.
Thanks Ronda!
As works of the federal gov't they are in the public domain. (4/21/2007)

Note: The area surrounding the fountain is currently under construction & therefore not open to the public (4/23/2007)

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0001000/00860_0010014929 (added ca. 4/16/2007)

North Panel: This figure of an artist represents Mr. Millet & Art in general.

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0001000/00860_0010014939 (added ca. 4/21/2007)

South Panel: This military figure represents Major Butt & Valor in general.

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0001000/00860_0010014949 (added ca. 4/21/2007)

Base: Rosettes in panels; cobblestones flooring

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0001000/00860_0010014959 (added ca. 4/21/2007)

THIS MONUMENT HAS BEEN ERECTED BY THEIR FRIENDS WITH
THE SANCTION OF CONGRESS IN MEMORY OF
FRANCIS DAVIS MILLET 1846-1912 AND
ARCHIBALD WILLIAM BUTT 1865-1912."

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0001000/00860_0010014969 (added ca. 4/21/2007)

More Info
See James M. Goode's
'Washington Sculpture'(hardcover p 114 Item #3.05; The Ellipse area);
'Outdoor Sculpture'(paperback p134 Item #C-4)
Medium: Marble, Limestone
Artist: Daniel Chester French(click name for more of that artist's work)
Related subjects: History, American; S. S. Titanic
Location: E & 17th Sts NW Washington, D.C.
See The Ellipse areain James Goode's Washington Sculpture
Nearest Metro: Farragut West(Orange - Blue - Silver) (click station name for all sculptures nearby)
Smithsonian American Art Museum's Art Inventories Catalog: Control number 77002684 (dcMem ID #860 )

Links & other sources
The Names of Washington D.C.
ADC Greater Washington, DC Street Map Book (128)
Wikipedia article on Butt
Wikipedia article on on Millet
Great Lakes Titanic Society site on Butt-Millet
President's Park (White House) website
NPS.gov List of Classified Structures on Butt-Millet fountain

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