"Titanic" is one of the highest-grossing films in the history of cinema. And it is not only because of the tragic story about how the almost perfect liner went to the bottom, claiming the lives of a huge number of people. And not only because of the beautiful, but at the same time sad, a love story between a girl from high society and an ordinary poor guy. But because “Titanic” was real as well as many main film characters. Let’s have a look on them in real life.
Margaret "Molly" Brown
The American socialite, philanthropist, and activist is a real-life passenger on the liner, nicknamed "the unsinkable Molly". Margaret actively participated in the rescue mission of the Titanic, thinking not about her own life and safety, but about the frightened passengers. She put them in lifeboats, claiming that she would come up by herself anyway! Once in the boat, against her will, Margaret gave her coat to the frozen neighbor and wanted to return to the liner and pick up the drowning people. Brown knew several languages, so she could speak with passengers from different countries. Upon arrival, the activist compiled lists of survivors and looked for warm clothes and provisions. She also collected money to help those who lost everything: both loved ones and means of life. She managed to raise $10,000 for the victims! Margaret headed the Titanic Rescue Fund.
Captain Edward John Smith
English naval officer had a long track record and wealth of experience, so he was commissioned to captain the Titanic on its maiden voyage. Smith agreed, but he was going to retire after the voyage. On April 10, 1912, the captain wore a bowler hat and an elongated coat and went on board. On April 15, at the moment when the liner was sinking, Smith returned to the captain's bridge to meet death courageously.
J. Bruce Ismay
English businessman, chairman, and CEO of White Star Line company. The owner of the Titanic, a survivor of its crash. Ismay wanted his liners to be fast, powerful, and obscenely luxurious. In order to expand the space for luxury apartments, Ismay reduced the number of lifeboats from 48 to 16. Nevertheless, he was one of the first to jump into the boat and then received a sharp condemnation from the press because of this. There were even cartoons and poems about his flight from the ship. Ismay was called the biggest coward in history. A year after the tragedy, he stepped down as president of the International Trading Company and chairman of the White Star Line.
Thomas Andrews
Irish businessman-shipbuilder was the architect and was responsible for the structure of the Titanic. He examined the damage to the liner on the night of the crash and informed the captain that there was about an hour left before the sinking of the ship and about the lack of lifeboats. Andrews went around the cabins, telling people to put on their life jackets and go on deck, insisted on filling the lifeboats, and threw sun loungers into the water so that drowning people could use them as life rafts. Andrews died heroically along with the liner, thinking not about his own safety, but only about the well-being of others! In print publications, Andrews was mentioned as a brave hero who sacrificed his life for the sake of women and children. And in the hometown of the shipbuilder, a hall of memory was opened in his honor.
Isidor Straus and Ida Straus
Isidor Straus refused to get into the rescue boat until all women with children left the liner. Despite her husband’s persuasion to get on the boat, Ida also refused, saying: "We have been living together for many years. Wherever you are going, I am going too". They were last seen holding each other's hands. A memorial to the dead couple was erected on 106th Street in Manhattan. In the same city, a public school is named after them.
Noël Leslie, Countess of Rothes
Countess was one of the survivors. She took over the command of the entire boat, rowing rapidly and raising the morale of the passengers. Upon arrival, Lucy actively helped women and children. She did not claim the laurels of the heroine but praised the leadership of the sailor Jones, the help of her sister-in-law, and other passengers of the boat.
First Officer William Murdoch
A Scottish sailor was the first officer on board. Theoretically, if Murdoch had made the decision to stay on course, sailing straight for the iceberg, the shipwreck could have been avoided. The consequences of such a choice would be the death of the entire crew and those who were in the bow of the liner. He probably did not even consider such a possible course of events. For some, the sailor became guilty of the tragedy, for others he remained a hero, and for someone - just a drowned man.
Second Officer Charles Lightoller
A second officer aboard the Titanic, a survivor of the shipwreck. He carried the last watch before the collision, and was busy evacuating passengers from the port side, carefully rescuing women and children, preventing men from getting into the boats. He helped others and was the latter who boarded the ship "Carpathia".
Frederick Fleet
A British sailor was the first to see the approaching iceberg. That night was quiet and moonless, and the caretaker was not provided with binoculars, which, in his opinion, could save the ship from a collision. Fleet was evacuated as a rower in the same boat as the "unsinkable" Margaret Brown.
Wallace Hartley
A British violinist led the orchestra aboard the ship. Surprisingly, instead of saving their lives after colliding with an iceberg, the musicians sat down on the deck to play music. Thus they tried to calm the frightened passengers and raise their morale. The musicians played courageously until the liner went underwater. The media reported that they were included in the list of the noblest people in maritime history. One of the streets of Coln was named after Hartley.
Colonel Archibald Gracie IV
An American writer survived the sinking by climbing onto an overturned collapsible lifeboat, even though most of those in the water near him died. Before diving into the water, he actively helped to evacuate women and children to the boats. After that, he wrote a book about the Titanic shipwreck, known as Titanic: A Survivor's Story, which is still in print. After experiencing severe stress during the tragedy, Gracie died 8 months later.
Jack Phillips
The senior radio operator transmitted the SOS signal after the collision and to the last until the power was turned off. On April 14, the ship's radio operators received many messages about icebergs on the course, but they were busy transmitting and receiving private programs. Phillips died along with other crew members.
