[1] His two brothers were college professors, but he left school at the age of 10 to go with his father to San Diego, California, for work.

On one occasion in the South China Sea he rescued the entire crew of another vessel that had caught fire in a storm.

[3] On November 1, 1905 Galbraith was elected as a hereditary companion of the Ohio Commandery of Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States by right of his father's service as a brevet lieutenant-colonel and aide-de-camp in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

His father, Frederic W. Galbraith, Sr., served as aide to Major-General Oliver O. Howard at the Battle of Gettysburg and during Sherman's March to the Sea.

When the United States entered World War I, Galbraith became a soldier by joining the First Infantry Regiment, Ohio National Guard.

Galbraith was ejected from the car, struck his head on a piece of concrete that had been left by a road crew, and died instantly.