Associated with RMS Titanic – Page 2 – The Exasperated Historian

242) Edith Brown Haisman

242: Edith Brown Haisman

Survived the Sinking of the RMS TitanicWhen She was Fifteen Years Old

Born: 27 October 1896, Cape Town, South Africa

Died: 20 January 1997, Southampton, United Kingdom

Edith and her parents traveled second-class (which upset her mother as they had been living very well in South Africa before an economic slump encouraged them to move to the United States).

Edith’s father saw multiple bad omens on the ship including watching the near collision of Titanic and the New York in the harbor just after setting sail and hearing of the coal fire in one of the bunkers on board.

Edith later recounted her memory of that night and of the last time she saw her father (he would perish in the sinking).

After staying in the US for a while she and her mother eventually returned to South Africa.

Sadly, Edith did not get along with her stepfather after her mother remarried and she could no longer live with her mom.

Edith married her husband just six weeks after meeting him in 1917. They would eventually have ten children.

The couple moved to England and one of their sons died at the age of fourteen after surviving being inside a building bombed during the air raids—he suffered from shell shock and became morbidly obese before dying of a heart attack.

In her later years she attended numerous conventions in the US and UK for Titanic and became friends with Millvina Dean, a fellow survivor.

Edith said she completely disapproved of anyone going through the wreck but would accept any recovered family belongings—happily accepting her father’s pocket watch after it was recovered in 1993.

Badges Earned:

Find a Grave Marked

Located In My Personal Library:

10 True Tales: Titanic Young Survivors by Allan Zullo

How It Happened: Titanic, The Epic Story From the People Who Were There by Geoff Tibballs (Mentioned on the Passenger List)

A Night to Remember by Walter Lord (Mentioned on the Passenger List)

Sources:

https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-survivor/edith-haisman.html

https://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/23/world/edith-haisman-100-dies-was-oldest-survivor-of-titanic.html

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/10319671/edith-eileen-haisman

241) Madeleine Astor Dick

241: Madeleine Astor Dick

Survived the Sinking of the RMS Titanic at the Age of Eighteen, and She was Pregnant

Born: 19 June 1893, Brooklyn, New York, United States of America

Died: 27 March 1940, Palm Beach, Florida, United States of America

Madeleine was married to Colonel John Jacob Astor IV—one of the richest men in the world at the time (he would not survive the sinking) and was pregnant with his son.

They were coming back to America on the Titanic after an extended honeymoon in Egypt and Europe.

Madeleine inherited her husband’s five-million-dollar estate and two houses so long as she did not remarry.

However, during World War I she did end up remarrying and had two sons with her new husband (relinquishing her claim to the Astor fortune).

They divorced and she remarried before divorcing again.

Madeleine reportedly died of heart disease, but it could have possibly been from a prescription overdose.

Badges Earned:

Find a Grave Marked

Located In My Personal Library:

Gilded Lives, Fatal Voyage: The Titanic's First-Class Passengers and Their World by Hugh Brewster

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

Titanic Love Stories: The True Stories of 13 Honeymoon Couples Who Sailed on the Titanic by Gill Paul

A Titanic Love Story by June Hall McCash

Titanic: True Stories of Her Passengers, Crew, and Legacy by Nicola Pierce

A Night to Remember by Walter Lord (Mentioned on the Passenger List)

How It Happened: Titanic, The Epic Story From the People Who Were There by Geoff Tibballs (Mentioned on the Passenger List)

What was the Titanic? by Stephanie Sabol

Sources:

https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-survivor/madeleine-talmage-astor.html

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/197380581/madeleine-talmage-dick

240) Violet Jessop

240: Violet Jessop

Given the Nickname of Mrs. Unsinkable

Born: 2 October 1887, Bahia Blanca, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Died: 5 May 1971, Great Ashfield, Suffolk, United Kingdom

Violet survived the sinking of both Titanic and her sister ship Britannic and was also present on the third sister Olympic during Olympic’s famous collision with the HMS Hawke.

Surviving that as well, she was twenty-four years old at the time of Titanic’s sinking and was on board as a part of the stewardess crew.

Violet was raised in a loving but poor family in Argentina. As a child, she suffered for years from tuberculosis and nearly died several times. Her parents, desperate to cure their ailing daughter, eventually moved the family closer to the Andes Mountains--the clearer air helping eventually save Violet's life. Sadly, soon after the family moved, Violet's father passed away.

In order to earn money to help support herself and her family, Violet took a job as a stewardess with various ocean liner shipping companies, eventually landing with the White Star Line. She absolutely adored working on Olympic, but to say her experiences on Olympic's sister ships would be less-than-glamorous would be an understatement.

The night of the Titanic's sinking, Violet--like many other passengers and crew, did not at first realize the immediate danger they were in. Soon after, when the order to evacuate the ship came down, Violet put on her lifebelt and made her way to the ship's deck.

When Violet was placed into lifeboat sixteen an officer on board the ship placed a baby into her care—she kept the child alive for the eight hours they remained in the lifeboat until they were rescued.

Luckily the mother came and took her baby back once they were on board Carpathia.

When Britannic sank four years later, Violet made it onto another lifeboat, but nearly died after her lifeboat was sucked into the blades of the still-spinning propeller. Violet managed to jump out of the boat at the last second, but was heavily weighed down by the coat she was wearing under her lifebelt.

After surviving all that craziness, Violet was briefly married in her thirties, but the name of her husband eludes historians—they had no children and were later divorced.

In all she served forty-two years at sea.

Badges Earned:

Find a Grave Marked

Located In My Personal Library:

The Band That Played On: The Extraordinary Story of the 8 Musicians Who Went Down With the Titanic by Steve Turner

How It Happened: Titanic, The Epic Story From the People Who Were There by Geoff Tibballs (Mentioned on the Crew List Under the "Stewardesses" Heading)

Sources:

https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-survivor/violet-constance-jessop.html

https://www.thevintagenews.com/2017/12/10/violet-jessop/

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6826130/violet-constance-jessop

239) Margaret Tobin Brown

"Neptune was exceedingly kind to me and I am now high and dry."

239: Margaret Tobin Brown

Remembered Today by the Nickname She Acquired After the Sinking of the RMS Titanic—”Unsinkable Maggie Brown”

Born: 18 July 1867, Hannibal, Missouri, United States of America

Died: 26 October 1932, New York City, New York, United States of America

Yes, you’re reading that right. During her lifetime she was known as Maggie Tobin Brown, though she loathed that nickname and tried to spread Molly instead. Luckily for her, after her death, Molly took off (maybe because it has a better ring to it?)

Earlier in life she was involved in organizing her local chapter of the National American Women’s Suffrage Association.

Her husband helped create a new way to mine gold during a local depression and was awarded over 12,000 shares in the mine for his efforts making them comfortably wealthy.

Margaret continued her advocacy in women’s rights, literacy, and education—while also volunteering in soup kitchens for the miners. She even helped build a hospital and start the first juvenile court in the country—the basis for the United States juvenile court system today.

She ran for the US Senate eight years before women were given the vote.

Margaret was a first-class passenger and forty-four years old at the time of the sinking. Unlike most socialites aboard Titanic Margaret had been a hard worker most of her life—always employed and living near the mines (her husband himself was a miner).

Margaret was not supposed to be on board Titanic—she joined the ship at the last minute after hearing her grandson was ill and so very few people in her family knew she was on board.

By the time Carpathia (the ship that rescued Titanic’s survivors) reached New York—Margaret had already established the Survivor’s Committee, been elected chair, and raised $10,000 for destitute survivors. She waited onboard Carpathia until all the other survivors had found friends or family or had been given medical attention.

Margaret continued to work with survivors and was particularly incensed that she was not allowed to testify at the Senate Inquiry into the wreck (she was barred from testifying because she was a woman).

In 1932 she was awarded the French Legion of Honor for all the work she did helping rebuild France after World War I.

Margaret died from a brain tumor.

A film called Unsinkable Molly Brown was made and in James Cameron’s 1997 blockbuster Titanic she is played by Kathy Bates (and they look so much alike, its almost crazy). I've included clips for both to the left.

Badges Earned:

Find a Grave Marked

Located In My Personal Library:

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)

LIFE Presents Titanic: The Tragedy That Shook the World by Kostya Kennedy

Scandalous Women: The Lives and Loves of History's Most Notorious Women by Elizabeth Kerri Mahon

Titanic: First Accounts by Tim Maltin and Nicholas Wade

Titanic: True Stories of Her Passengers, Crew, and Legacy by Nicola Pierce

Uppity Women Speak Their Minds by Vicki Leon

The Unsinkable Mrs. Brown by Caroline Bancroft

What was the Titanic? by Stephanie Sabol

A Night to Remember by Walter Lord (Mentioned on the Passenger List)

Sources:

https://historicmissourians.shsmo.org/historicmissourians/name/b/brownmt/

https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-survivor/molly-brown.html

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/1707/margaret-brown

173) William Alden Smith

United States Senator who Presided Over the US Enquiry Into the Sinking of the RMS Titanic

Born: 5 May 1859, Dowagiac, Michigan, United States of America

Died: 11 October 1932, Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States of America

As a child he started his own Popcorn selling business where he earned twice as much as the average family in a week.

His political career began when William earned a job as a page in the Michigan House of Representatives.

He was a member of the Republican party; he was Fiscally Conservative but Socially Liberal. William served in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

William’s Enquiry into the Titanic disaster made him many enemies on both sides of the Atlantic as he fought for the truth to be revealed. The surviving officers like Charles Lightoller never forgave William for his deep probing into the truth, and the steamship companies were just as angry.

One of the more famous moments from the inquiry came when William asked Fifth Officer Harold Lowe what the composition of the iceberg that struck Titanic was. Harold’s answer? “Ice.” While the question may seem stupid today, it was actually a scientifically significant one. William had asked Fourth Officer Joseph Boxhall the same question. Joseph knew what William was asking, whether there were rocks or other earth were a part of the iceberg’s composition.

Also, according to the article I’m reading, William deemed it pertinent that a law be passed that binoculars were needed in the crow’s nest and other areas for the crew to use. The binoculars from Titanic had been removed before they left Queenstown, and some of the crew said they would have been able to spot the iceberg sooner had they had binoculars. However, according to 101 Things You Thought You Knew About the Titanic…But Didn’t! Science disproves that theory (read the book for more information, but the gist is that the night was so dark, plus other factors, would have meant the iceberg was invisible to binoculars until the naked eye could have seen it anyway).

Outside the Titanic Hearing, William also worked to improve the lives of African Americans by blocking a proposition to stop African American women from voting, pushing for more rights for African American landowners in the South, and leading the Senate to approve of the Emancipation Proclamation Exposition.

William passed away from a heart attack. His only son died from pneumonia he had contracted during World War I, in 1919.

This is a totally weird coincidence, but according to History Because Its Here, William was a descendant of Israel Putnam; you can read his entry on this site by clicking his name.

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

Gilded Lives, Fatal Voyage: The Titanic's First-Class Passengers and Their World by Hugh Brewster

Titanic and the Mystery Ship by Senan Molony

Sources:

https://historybecauseitshere.weebly.com/william-alden-smith-michigans-titanic-senator.html

https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/image/SmithWilliamA.htm
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7994087/william-alden-smith

117) Samuel Scott

117) Samuel Scott

The First Victim of the RMS Titanic

Born: c1895, Most Likely Ireland

Died: 20 April 1910, Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

Samuel slipped and fell off a staging ladder, fracturing his skull upon hitting the ground and dying instantly.

Samuel was one of approximately 15,000 men who were tasked with building both the RMS Olympic and her sister ship Titanic. More specifically, Samuel worked on one of the five-man rivet teams as a catch boy. He was responsible for carrying the flaming hot torches from the furnace to their respective holes in the side of the ship.

Depending on their skill level, laborers received between $5 and $10 a week. For comparison, the nicest First-Class tickets cost $4,350.

Originally buried in an unmarked grave, the fifteen-year-old finally received a headstone in 2011.

It’s believed more than a dozen more workers were killed after Samuel.

A children’s book released under the title of Spirit of the Titanic sees a ghostly version of Samuel observing the sinking of the Titanic.

Badges Earned:

Find a Grave Marked

Located In My Personal Library:

Spirit of the Titanic by Nicola Pierce

Sources:

https://www.history.com/news/titanics-first-victim-gets-headstone-at-last

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/74362737/samuel-joseph-scott

93) Bill Paxton

Actor and Director Who Made Sci-Fi Stars and Real Life Characters come to Life on Screen

Born: 17 May 1955, Fort Worth, Texas, United States of America

Died: 25 February 2017, Los Angeles, California, United States of America

Original Name: William Paxton

Bill starred in a variety of roles, everything from Stripes to the Alien Franchise to Streets of Fire to James Cameron epics like The Terminator and Titanic. Bill even starred in Twister, Apollo 13, and Tombstone. He was also a frequent History Channel Guest Star, appearing in documentaries and mini-series like the Hatfields and McCoys—Bill portrayed Old Randall McCoy.

In the 2015 miniseries Texas Rising, Bill portrayed real life figure Sam Houston—who also happened to be distantly related to Bill himself.

He also directed several music videos for Madonna, Limp Bizkit, Pat Benatar, and others.

He passed away unexpectedly at the age of sixty-one following heart surgery. He was married with two children.

In 2012, when speaking about his recently departed friend Luke Askew, Bill reportedly said, "He just passed about six weeks ago. I was really upset about that. Hell of a nice guy. He contracted an infection at a hospital, and that's what killed him. So God, whatever you do, don't go to a hospital,”—Bill passed away at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

Badges Earned:

Find a Grave Marked

Sources:

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000200/bio

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/176751075/bill-paxton

https://www.looper.com/45175/things-didnt-know-bill-paxton/

91) Ida Straus

"If you had a husband like mine you would do more than [darn his socks] for him."

91) Ida Straus

She and Her Husband were New York Socialites who Boarded RMS Titanic at Southampton and Never Reached New York

Born: 6 February 1849, Worms, German Confederation (Present-day Worms, Germany)

Died: 15 April 1912, The Atlantic Ocean

Full Name: Rosalie Ida Straus

Although given a place on lifeboat number eight Ida refused to get on and stayed behind with her husband.

His body was recovered but hers was not.

Her husband Isidor was co-owner of Macy’s Department Store.

Ida was one of only four women from First Class to perish in the sinking.

She and her husband had seven children together and her last known words were recorded by people in the lifeboats as something to the effect of, “We have lived together for many years. Where you go, I go.”

Her husband served in the House of Representatives and during the War Between the States he worked for Southern businessmen in Europe, helping sell items that managed to pass through the Union blockade.

Ida's story was featured on an episode of Monumental Mysteries entitled "Ames Pyramid, Straus Titanic, Cracking the Zodiac".

Badges Earned:

Find a Grave Marked

Located In My Personal Library:

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 Titanic Love Story by June Hall McCash

Titanic: True Stories of Her Passengers, Crew, and Legacy by Nicola Pierce

What was the Titanic? by Stephanie Sabol

A Night to Remember by Walter Lord (Mentioned on the Passenger List)

Sources:

https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-victim/ida-straus.html

https://titanic.fandom.com/wiki/Ida_Straus

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/3677/ida-straus

90) Sir Arthur H Rostron

90) Sir Arthur H Rostron KBE, RD, RNR

Captain of the RMS Carpathia on that Fateful April Night

Born: 14 May 1869, Bolton, United Kingdom

Died: 4 November 1940, Southampton, United Kingdom

Commodore for the Cunard Line and Congressional Gold Medal Recipient; Arthur was captaining the Carpathia when Titanic sank. Therefore, he was responsible for rescuing and then delivering the Titanic survivors to New York.

Arthur first went to sea at the age of thirteen and soon saw the Americas, India, and Australia. He joined the Cunard Line in 1895 as a fourth mate on the Umbria.

In 1907, he was made first officer on the Lusitania, but a day before the ship was supposed to leave port he was transferred to the Brescia as captain. By 1911, he’d become captain of his first passenger ship, the Pennonia, which traveled to New York from the Mediterranean.

After a brief stint in the British Navy during the Russo-Japanese War, Arthur was made captain of the Carpathia in January 1912.

On that fateful night of April 14/15, Arthur was asleep when his wireless officer burst into his room to tell him he had heard the Titanic’s distress signal. The Carpathia was sixty miles away from their last reported position but the crew leapt into action.

Arthur was a very religious man, and reportedly stepped away after all orders had been given to pray for those aboard Titanic.

Carpathia arrived at the scene of the wreck around 4 AM on April 15^th and was able to take 712 out of the water. 1,503 had already perished. Of those 712, four were already dead and one died a few hours later.

At the time, Carpathia had been headed to Europe, but seeing as they didn’t have enough supplies to support the new 700+ passengers aboard the ship, Arthur turned back to New York.

Once the US Senate Inquiry had finished, Arthur and the Carpathia returned to their usual service.

A few months after first meeting US President Taft, Arthur was also presented with the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor, the highest award the United States could bestow upon him.

He would later serve aboard various ships during World War I, ferrying Canadian troops to Europe and even traveling to India and serving in the Gallipoli Campaign.

Once the war ended, Arthur returned to working as captain on various ships for passenger carriers. In 1926, he succeeded James Charles (I know—different James Charles) as commander of the Berengaria and Commodore of the Cunard fleet.

He retired from seafaring service in May of 1931 and passed away from complications with pneumonia in 1940.

Badges Earned:

Find a Grave Marked

Located In My Personal Library:

The Band That Played On: The Extraordinary Story of the 8 Musicians Who Went Down With the Titanic by Steve Turner

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 by Geoff Tibballs

LIFE Presents Titanic: The Tragedy That Shook the World by Kostya Kennedy

Titanic and the Mystery Ship by Senan Molony

Titanic: True Stories of Her Passengers, Crew, and Legacy by Nicola Pierce

The Unsinkable Mrs. Brown by Caroline Bancroft

What was the Titanic? by Stephanie Sabol

Sources:

https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-biography/arthur-henry-rostron.html

https://titanic.fandom.com/wiki/Arthur_Rostron

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/9550788/arthur-henry-rostron

72) Wallace Hartley

Band Leader and Violinist on the RMS Titanic

Born: 2 June 1878, Colne, Lancashire, United Kingdom

Died: 15 April 1912, The Atlantic Ocean

Wallace spent his life surrounded by music, playing in various orchestras before beginning to work for the Cunard Shipping Line in 1909—working on RMS Lusitania and RMS Mauretania.

In April of 1912 he was assigned as the bandmaster for the White Star Line’s newest ship RMS Titanic for her maiden voyage. One source claims he took the job reluctantly and was only assigned to her the day before the voyage.

He is remembered for keeping the band playing during the sinking and for trying to keep passengers calm. Though their actual last song was not recorded, various survivors claimed it was either “Nearer My God to Thee” or “Autumn”. I have included the scene from James Cameron's 1997 epic Titanic in this article if you would like to hear "Nearer My God to Thee".

None of the ship’s band members survived the sinking. At the time, Wallace was engaged to be married back home in England.

His violin survived; and in 2013 it was sold at auction for $1.6 Million (or £900,000).

Two weeks after Titanic went down, Wallace’s body was recovered and returned to England for burial. It is said some 20,000 people attended the funeral service.

Badges Earned:

Find a Grave Marked

Located in My Personal Library:

The Band That Played On: The Extraordinary Story of the 8 Musicians Who Went Down With the Titanic by Steve Turner

Centennial Presents The Titanic: The Shipwreck That Shocked the World, What Really Happened by Ben Harris and Sebastian Raatz

How It Happened: Titanic, The Epic Story From the People Who Were There by Geoff Tibballs (Mentioned on the Crew List Under the "Musicians" Listing)

LIFE Presents Titanic: The Tragedy That Shook the World by Kostya Kennedy

Titanic: True Stories of Her Passengers, Crew, and Legacy by Nicola Pierce

Sources:

https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-victim/wallace-hartley.html

https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/articles/the-story-of-wallace-hartley-titanic-bandmaster/

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7980/wallace-henry-hartley