Prominent Passengers of the Titanic

  • J. Bruce Ismay was director of the White Star Line the company that built the Titanic.  There are 2 different stories about Ismay when he was aboard the ship.  Some claim that Ismay boarded a lifeboat even after Captain Smith issued the orders of women and children first.  Others claim that Ismay only boarded a lifeboat after all the women and children were boarded first on particular area of the ship.  His reputation ruined after his actions during the sinking Ismay led a low profile life until his death in 1937.

  • Thomas Andrews was the head designer of the Titanic, he was aboard the ship on that fateful night.  He informed the Captain of the damage to the ship and told the Captain the amount of time that it would take for the ship to sink. Andrews was last seen in front of a painting in the smoking room with his life vest lieing on a nearby table. He went down with the ship and his body was never recovered.
  • Captain Edward Smith joined the White Star Line in 1880. Smith commanded many ships during his career. Some sources claim that Smith was set to retire after the maiden voyage of the Titanic. Noone knows how Smith died. Popular beliefs are that Smith went to the bridge of the ship and perished during the sinking. His body was never recovered.
  • John Jacob Astor was a millionaire and was the richest person aboard the ship. After Astor divorced his first wife which was considered a scandal back in the 1900’s, society was shocked when Astor announced that he would remarry.  He married his second wife Madeleine who was 18 years old at the time, she was 29 years younger that Astor. Pregnant with there first child Astor made sure that Madeleine was safely aboard a  lifeboat Astor stood to the sides allowing others to be boarded. If Astor was around in 2011 he would have been worth 119.2 billion dollars.
  • Isidor and Ida Straus, Isidor was co owner along with his brother of Macy’s Department Stores. He married his wife Ida in 1817 and together they had 7 children. The couple were inseparable . During the sinking Ida refused to board a life boat without her husband. Isidor was told that he could board the lifeboat with his wife but he refused letting younger men board instead, this led to Ida refusing to board the lifeboat. They were last seen sitting on deck chairs holding hands until a huge wave hit them and dragged them out to sea. Isidors body was recovered. Ida was never found.
  • Margaret “Molly” Brown was a millionairess. She became famous for surviving the sinking of the Titanic by making the crew of her lifeboat turn around and go back to look for survivors. She earned the nickname the Unsinkable Molly Brown because she helped passengers evacuate the ship and even took over rowing the lifeboat that she was aboard. Molly Brown died from a significant brain tumor in 1932 at the age of 65.


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