Kevin Brown
@kevin-brown.bsky.social
The man behind the book about the man behind the mould.
Historian, writer, lecturer, archivist, author of books on history of medicine, military & maritime history, & Curator of Alexander Fleming Laboratory Museum.
Historian, writer, lecturer, archivist, author of books on history of medicine, military & maritime history, & Curator of Alexander Fleming Laboratory Museum.
Pinned
Kevin Brown
@kevin-brown.bsky.social
· Apr 20
Titanic, Ship of Lost Illusions: A Floating Microcosm of Edwardian Society, my latest book now out, a study of attitudes to class, race, gender & the cult of manliness exposed on one night as a ship went down: a book to remember www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Titanic-Ship...
The fate of Victor & Pepita Peñasco honeymooning on Titanic examined in my lecture on these obscure passengers. Was he a hero in a tuxedo, a devout son of the church & loving husband & son or as replaceable as the suits he loved to wear? www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Titanic-Ship...
February 2, 2026 at 11:47 PM
The fate of Victor & Pepita Peñasco honeymooning on Titanic examined in my lecture on these obscure passengers. Was he a hero in a tuxedo, a devout son of the church & loving husband & son or as replaceable as the suits he loved to wear? www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Titanic-Ship...
How did his drowning with books on Titanic mark Harry Widener’s reinvention as a new kind of cerebral hero? Find out from my series of enrichment lectures on Celebrity Millenium, Japan, 16-28 March 2026. If you want to know more about Harry read www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Titanic-Ship...
February 2, 2026 at 8:13 PM
How did his drowning with books on Titanic mark Harry Widener’s reinvention as a new kind of cerebral hero? Find out from my series of enrichment lectures on Celebrity Millenium, Japan, 16-28 March 2026. If you want to know more about Harry read www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Titanic-Ship...
What qualities made up a manly man on Titanic & how did he become a hero in a tuxedo? And what failings meant a man was seen as a villain? All is revealed in my talk on Celebrity Millenium sailing around Japan in March. To learn more read www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Titanic-Ship...
February 2, 2026 at 7:01 PM
What qualities made up a manly man on Titanic & how did he become a hero in a tuxedo? And what failings meant a man was seen as a villain? All is revealed in my talk on Celebrity Millenium sailing around Japan in March. To learn more read www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Titanic-Ship...
I will return to the subject of manliness & heroism on Titanic with a talk on a hero in a tuxedo in a series of enrichment lectures at sea, on ‘Titanic: Ship of Lost Illusions’, Celebrity Millennium, Japan 16-28 March 2026. Read more on the subject www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Titanic-Ship...
February 2, 2026 at 2:56 PM
I will return to the subject of manliness & heroism on Titanic with a talk on a hero in a tuxedo in a series of enrichment lectures at sea, on ‘Titanic: Ship of Lost Illusions’, Celebrity Millennium, Japan 16-28 March 2026. Read more on the subject www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Titanic-Ship...
Which of my books is my favourite? Well, no parent can favour one child over another though the first-born and the youngest might each enjoy a special place, but all of them are equally loved.
February 1, 2026 at 10:38 PM
Which of my books is my favourite? Well, no parent can favour one child over another though the first-born and the youngest might each enjoy a special place, but all of them are equally loved.
“Exudes a quiet authority”, a description of the book “Penicillin Man”, but could also epitomise the subject of the gold standard biography Alexander Fleming and also the Alexander Fleming Laboratory Museum. Where do I fit in with this appraisal of my work?
February 1, 2026 at 6:56 AM
“Exudes a quiet authority”, a description of the book “Penicillin Man”, but could also epitomise the subject of the gold standard biography Alexander Fleming and also the Alexander Fleming Laboratory Museum. Where do I fit in with this appraisal of my work?
Honoured to be the “Champion” of the discovery of penicillin as a World Origin Site & that the Alexander Fleming Laboratory Museum was the first to be accredited, WOS0001 worldoriginsite.org/penicillin/
January 31, 2026 at 6:32 PM
Honoured to be the “Champion” of the discovery of penicillin as a World Origin Site & that the Alexander Fleming Laboratory Museum was the first to be accredited, WOS0001 worldoriginsite.org/penicillin/
Compelling performances by Joe Layton & Hannah Sinclair Robinson in “Lost Atoms” at Lyric Theatre Hammersmith as a couple lost in an abstract vault lined with a climbing frame of filing cabinets of their differing memories, athletically & emotionally exploring memory & relationships
January 31, 2026 at 3:54 PM
Compelling performances by Joe Layton & Hannah Sinclair Robinson in “Lost Atoms” at Lyric Theatre Hammersmith as a couple lost in an abstract vault lined with a climbing frame of filing cabinets of their differing memories, athletically & emotionally exploring memory & relationships
The man behind the book about the man behind the mould - that influenced the musical Lifeline www.lifelinemusical.com
January 30, 2026 at 3:15 PM
The man behind the book about the man behind the mould - that influenced the musical Lifeline www.lifelinemusical.com
It was good to hear from the audience for a talk on bibliophile Harry Widener, lost on Titanic, that they had been inspired to buy “Titanic: Ship of Lost Illusions” www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Titanic-Ship.... There is no evidence that Harry ever read any of his books so no obligation to read mine!
January 29, 2026 at 4:21 PM
It was good to hear from the audience for a talk on bibliophile Harry Widener, lost on Titanic, that they had been inspired to buy “Titanic: Ship of Lost Illusions” www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Titanic-Ship.... There is no evidence that Harry ever read any of his books so no obligation to read mine!
Explore the world of bibliophile Harry Widener and the real man beneath the myth created by his family after his death on Titanic: watch my online talk youtu.be/pMYHwmkirs4?... and read my book “Titanic: Ship of Lost Illusions” www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Titanic-Ship...
January 28, 2026 at 10:18 PM
Explore the world of bibliophile Harry Widener and the real man beneath the myth created by his family after his death on Titanic: watch my online talk youtu.be/pMYHwmkirs4?... and read my book “Titanic: Ship of Lost Illusions” www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Titanic-Ship...
What should you savour first to immerse yourself in the world of 1912 in a historic pub snug on a wintry evening, the warming Irish stew, the pint of stout or the book “Titanic: Ship of Lost Illusions” www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Titanic-Ship...?
January 27, 2026 at 9:44 PM
What should you savour first to immerse yourself in the world of 1912 in a historic pub snug on a wintry evening, the warming Irish stew, the pint of stout or the book “Titanic: Ship of Lost Illusions” www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Titanic-Ship...?
For the museum curator working in a historical laboratory, wearing a smart suit, with never a white lab coat in sight, reflects the reality of the 1920s and earlier when the suit was the mark of the professional, not the lab coat of the scientist except when being photographed
January 27, 2026 at 9:42 PM
For the museum curator working in a historical laboratory, wearing a smart suit, with never a white lab coat in sight, reflects the reality of the 1920s and earlier when the suit was the mark of the professional, not the lab coat of the scientist except when being photographed
Alexander Fleming Laboratory Museum is proud to be the original World Origin Site WOS0001, &, since its designation on 95th anniversary of the discovery of penicillin & 30th of the Museum, 3 September 2023, has been joined by very good company worldoriginsite.org
January 27, 2026 at 7:16 AM
Alexander Fleming Laboratory Museum is proud to be the original World Origin Site WOS0001, &, since its designation on 95th anniversary of the discovery of penicillin & 30th of the Museum, 3 September 2023, has been joined by very good company worldoriginsite.org
Alexander Fleming’s laboratory has always been a place for reading and reflection
January 27, 2026 at 3:20 AM
Alexander Fleming’s laboratory has always been a place for reading and reflection
“When the SS hosted parties, they often wore suits that had clearly belonged to our people, fine evening jackets and tails. The juxtaposition was unbearable. The Nazis wore these clothes to dance & laugh, while their owners had been reduced to ash.” (Fania Fenelon, Auschwitz)
January 27, 2026 at 3:11 AM
“When the SS hosted parties, they often wore suits that had clearly belonged to our people, fine evening jackets and tails. The juxtaposition was unbearable. The Nazis wore these clothes to dance & laugh, while their owners had been reduced to ash.” (Fania Fenelon, Auschwitz)
“In one shipment alone we sorted over 2,000 suits including tuxedos & evening jackets, of the highest quality, often better than what we could procure in the Reich. We were instructed to send the best pieces back to Berlin to be sold or redistributed to loyal Germans.” (R. Höss)
January 27, 2026 at 3:10 AM
“In one shipment alone we sorted over 2,000 suits including tuxedos & evening jackets, of the highest quality, often better than what we could procure in the Reich. We were instructed to send the best pieces back to Berlin to be sold or redistributed to loyal Germans.” (R. Höss)
“I stood in front of a mountain of suits, 1000s of them, neatly arranged. Each suit was a ghost. Some still carried the scent of cologne or tobacco. Small details reminded us that the owners had been real people with lives, families & futures that were stolen.” (Olga Lengyel)
January 27, 2026 at 3:08 AM
“I stood in front of a mountain of suits, 1000s of them, neatly arranged. Each suit was a ghost. Some still carried the scent of cologne or tobacco. Small details reminded us that the owners had been real people with lives, families & futures that were stolen.” (Olga Lengyel)
“I stood naked, my suit thrown into a pile. I was no longer a person in their eyes only a number. That suit, that fabric, was part of my identity & now it was gone. Each item of clothing was sorted, cleaned & shipped off. Nothing was wasted, not a scrap of cloth.” (Viktor Frankl)
January 27, 2026 at 3:08 AM
“I stood naked, my suit thrown into a pile. I was no longer a person in their eyes only a number. That suit, that fabric, was part of my identity & now it was gone. Each item of clothing was sorted, cleaned & shipped off. Nothing was wasted, not a scrap of cloth.” (Viktor Frankl)
“I recognized a suit I had seen a friend wear, neatly folded, ready to be shipped to Germany. The wearer was now dead. Handling his belongings, I felt as though I was burying him again. I touched the fabric, that suit was all that was left of him.” (Filip Müller, Sonderkommando)
January 27, 2026 at 3:07 AM
“I recognized a suit I had seen a friend wear, neatly folded, ready to be shipped to Germany. The wearer was now dead. Handling his belongings, I felt as though I was burying him again. I touched the fabric, that suit was all that was left of him.” (Filip Müller, Sonderkommando)
An Auschwitz survivor remembered finding a wedding programme in the pocket of a neatly packed tuxedo she was sorting in the Kanada warehouse:
“I couldn’t help but think of the man who wore it, standing proudly on his wedding day, never imagining his life would end like this.”
“I couldn’t help but think of the man who wore it, standing proudly on his wedding day, never imagining his life would end like this.”
January 27, 2026 at 3:06 AM
An Auschwitz survivor remembered finding a wedding programme in the pocket of a neatly packed tuxedo she was sorting in the Kanada warehouse:
“I couldn’t help but think of the man who wore it, standing proudly on his wedding day, never imagining his life would end like this.”
“I couldn’t help but think of the man who wore it, standing proudly on his wedding day, never imagining his life would end like this.”
"All the decent drapery of life is to be rudely torn off. All the superadded ideas, furnished from the wardrobe of a moral imagination... are to be exploded as a ridiculous, absurd & antiquated fashion." Thus Edmund Burke mourned the stripping of status in the French Revolution
January 26, 2026 at 5:47 PM
"All the decent drapery of life is to be rudely torn off. All the superadded ideas, furnished from the wardrobe of a moral imagination... are to be exploded as a ridiculous, absurd & antiquated fashion." Thus Edmund Burke mourned the stripping of status in the French Revolution
World Origin Site designation on centenary of first demonstration of television by John Logie Baird transmitting face of William Taynton, 26 January 1926
January 26, 2026 at 5:44 PM
World Origin Site designation on centenary of first demonstration of television by John Logie Baird transmitting face of William Taynton, 26 January 1926
Communication is a vital tool of public engagement with history. I distrust the pop up TV historian who claims to be an expert outside their own specialism & presents poorly researched gimmicky history. My own preferred model is AJP Taylor who spoke unscripted with authority
January 25, 2026 at 5:54 PM
Communication is a vital tool of public engagement with history. I distrust the pop up TV historian who claims to be an expert outside their own specialism & presents poorly researched gimmicky history. My own preferred model is AJP Taylor who spoke unscripted with authority
Actor Alun Armstrong was playing the villain Joe Gowlan in a dramatisation of Cronin’s “The Stars Look Down” on TV in 1975. His lay preacher parents were preaching at Craghead Wesleyan Chapel when my grandmother heard her niece Mamie shout out “Your Alun was a bad lad last night”
January 25, 2026 at 5:53 PM
Actor Alun Armstrong was playing the villain Joe Gowlan in a dramatisation of Cronin’s “The Stars Look Down” on TV in 1975. His lay preacher parents were preaching at Craghead Wesleyan Chapel when my grandmother heard her niece Mamie shout out “Your Alun was a bad lad last night”