Robert Williams Daniel

Robert Williams Daniel
Robert W. Daniel, Sr.
Member of the Virginia Senate from the 6th district
In office 1936 – December 20, 1940
Preceded by	W. O. Rogers
Succeeded by	Garland Gray
Personal details
Born	September 11, 1884 Richmond, Virginia
Died	December 20, 1940(1940-12-20) (aged 56) Richmond, Virginia
Resting place	Hollywood Cemetery
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Mrs. Eloise Hughes Smith (1914 – div. 1923) Mrs. Margery Durant Campbell (1923 – div. 1928) Mrs. Charlotte Bemiss Christian (1929–1940)
Children	Margery Randolph Daniel Robert Williams Daniel, Jr.
Residence	Lower Brandon Plantation, Prince George County, Virginia
Alma mater	University of Virginia
Occupation	banker, farmer
Religion	Episcopalian
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1916–1919
Rank	Major
Battles/wars	World War I

Robert Williams Daniel (September 11, 1884 – December 20, 1940) was an American banker who survived the sinking of the RMS Titanic in 1912, and later became a gentleman farmer and served in the Virginia Senate.

Daniel was born on September 11, 1884 in Richmond, Virginia, the son of James Robertson Vivian Daniel, a Richmond lawyer, and Hallie Wise Williams. Daniel was educated in the local schools and graduated from the University of Virginia in 1903. He married fellow Titanic survivor Eloise Hughes Smith, as discussed below, they later divorced. On December 6, 1923, Daniel married Margery Durant, daughter of automobile executive William C. Durant, and they had one daughter, Margery Randolph Daniel (November 2, 1924 – May 23, 2013). They too divorced and Daniel married Charlotte Bemiss Christian, a widow, who survived him. They had one son Robert Williams Daniel, Jr (March 17, 1936 – February 4, 2012).

A descendant of William Randolph, his great-grandfather Peter V. Daniel, was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, and his great-great-grandfather, Edmund Randolph, was the seventh Governor of Virginia, the first Attorney General of the United States and later served as Secretary of State.

After graduating from the University of Virginia in 1903, Daniel embarked on a career in banking and management. His first job was in the traffic manager’s office of the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad, where his grandfather Peter V. Daniel, Jr. had been president from 1860 to 1871. About 1905, Daniel left RF&P and entered the insurance business, becoming attached to the firm of Williams and Hart. He eventually succeeded Williams as district superintendent for the Maryland Life Insurance Company. In 1906, Daniel and a fellow district manager of Maryland Life, Charles Palmer Stearns, formed the insurance firm Daniel and Stearns.