247: Millvina Dean
The Last Living Survivor of the Wreck of RMS Titanic
Born: 2 February 1912, Branscombe, United Kingdom
Died: 31 May 2009, Ashurst, United Kingdom
Original Name: Elizabeth Gladys Dean
Millvina was two months old at the time and the youngest of the 705 surviving passengers and crew.
She was traveling third-class with her parents and brother (her father would perish but her mother and brother survived with her).
Her family returned to England soon after the sinking and she worked as a cartographer for the British Government during World War II.
After the Titanic’s wreck site was rediscovered, she became an instant celebrity—appearing at numerous Titanic functions.
Near the end of her life, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, and James Cameron all worked together to set up a fund to help pay her nursing home costs (despite the fact Millvina had never seen the film, she said she didn’t want to think about how her father died, and that the film would do just that).
After she died her ashes were scattered above the harbor in Southampton where the ship launched from.
Badges Earned:
Find a Grave Marked
Located In My Personal Library:
Centennial Presents The Titanic: The Shipwreck That Shocked the World, What Really Happened by Ben Harris and Sebastian Raatz
The Complete Guide to the Titanic by Julia Garstecki
Gilded Lives, Fatal Voyage: The Titanic's First-Class Passengers and Their World by Hugh Brewster
How It Happened: Titanic, The Epic Story From the People Who Were There by Geoff Tibballs (Mentioned on the Passenger List)
The Jews of the Titanic: A Reflection of the Jewish World on the Epic Disaster by Eli Moskowitz
LIFE Presents Titanic: The Tragedy That Shook the World by Kostya Kennedy
A Night to Remember by Walter Lord (Mentioned on the Passenger List)
Titanic: True Stories of Her Passengers, Crew, and Legacy by Nicola Pierce
Sources:
https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-survivor/millvina-dean.html