U.S. Army newspaper Stars and Stripes announcing Hitler’s death 2 May 1945 Original source: U.S. Army Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons
Adolf Hitler, the leader and founder of the 1,000 Reich, committed suicide along with his wife Eva Braun. His death would end the war in Europe.
Since the defeat at the Battle of Stalingrad in 1943, it had become increasingly apparent that Allied forces had turned the tide. Germany had lost North Africa, Italy had been liberated, and Allied troops were on German soil. The capture and execution of Benito Mussolini also weighed on Hitler’s mind in his final days in the underground bunker. Since learning the war was lost with Soviet troops now in Berlin, he had become more erratic.
Hermann Goering, head of the Luftwaffe and Hitler’s designated successor, tried to take over but was denounced, arrested, and stripped of his powers. Heinrich Himmler, head of the SS, had entered into secret negotiations with the Allies via Sweden. Hitler had considered him one of his most loyal subjects, but when the BBC announced the negotiations, he too was denounced, stripped of his powers, and ordered arrested. Both would commit suicide later; Himmler not long after he was caught and Goering the night before his scheduled execution for war crimes.
Most of Hitler’s aides and lieutenants had left except for General Krebs, Martin Bormann, and Joseph Goebbels. Albert Speer had been ordered to carry out a scorched earth policy in Berlin but declined to do it. Hitler believed Germany was unworthy and allowed themselves to be defeated. In the early hours of April 29, 1945, Hitler married his long-time mistress, Eva Braun. He dictated his will and political testament. The will was short while the testament laid out a defense of his life and actions taken for Germany. He also appointed those to lead after his death.
On the afternoon of April 30, 1945, Hitler shot himself in the head (though some argue he took poison in case he survived) while Eva took poison. He ordered both bodies be burned in the Chancellery Garden. Goebbels transmitted the message to Admiral Karl Doenitz that he had been appointed president by Hitler. Goebbels and his wife would take their own lives later but would first kill their children with cyanide. His death was announced on May 1, 1945, by Hamburg Radio. The surrender of German troops in Italy and elsewhere would begin thereafter and all German forces had surrendered by May 5, 1945. Celebrations broke out after his death and later the full capitulation of German forces. The war in Europe was over but the war against Japan would continue for several more months.
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Benito Mussolini, who once ruled Italy and created Fascism, was executed by Italian partisans while attempting to flee Italy.
Benito Mussolini started out as Communist, became dissatisfied with it, and conceived a new ideology called Fascism that fused elements of Communism with Nationalism. Italy after World War I was economically suffering. It had supported the Allies and was promised territory but got nothing. Mostly agrarian based with only a few centers of large industry, Italy was considered backward by European standards. Mussolini sought to change this by making people believe in Italy again. Being an ardent Communist and editing one of Italy’s prominent Communist newspapers, he originally believed in its principles but World War I disillusioned him. He crafted a new ideology, Fascism, that incorporated elements of both Communism and Nationalism, that would bring about a better nation.
His movement garnered many supporters eager to make Italy a better and stronger nation. After King Emmanuel III dissolved parliament in 1921, Mussolini used this to demand more power. His party had gained seats and with uniformed members out on the streets, highly visible as well. They gained power in cities, and the Black Shirts went after Communists and Socialists destroying their offices. In 1922, King Emmanuel was faced with major problems of civil unrest. Calling out the army did little good and the Fascists controlled many municipalities. A march on Rome brought Mussolini and thousands to Rome demanding he be put into power. To avoid more unrest, King Emmanuel appointed him as Prime Minister and would rule Italy from 1923-1943.
Fascism, like Communism, disdained democracy as weak and governed as a one-party state where dissent was limited. Dissidents were imprisoned or executed depending on the severity of their actions. All media–print, radio, and movies–had to reflect the views of the government. Journalists had to belong to a national organization that would bound them to support Mussolini. Every aspect of life in Italy came under its control as Mussolini envisioned it would. The Catholic Boy Scouts were dissolved and replaced by a Fascist one called Opera Nazionale Balilla and all young boys were encouraged to join but it became mandatory in 1937. Much of what the Fascists did in Italy would become the model for Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party in Germany. Though Mussolini at first disdained Hitler, they eventually became friends. Both believed that Fascism was on the march and would replace the old order of Europe. The Spanish Civil War of 1936 saw both Hitler and Mussolini support General Francisco Franco against the Communist inspired government backed by Moscow.
Mussolini seized Ethiopia in 1935 sparking world-wide outrage over the use of mustard gas. Hitler backed him and both countries would exit the League of Nations in 1937. With the signing of the Pact of Steel in 1939, Mussolini had tied Italy to Germany’s war aims. Italy faced problems building up its military. It sorely lacked the industrial capability to build its own munitions, ships, and other necessities. Because of boycotts and refusals to sell resources from other countries, Italy became reliant on Germany for them. Germany also put pressure on Italy to adopt its policies about Jews and its eugenics policies. Scholars disagree on whether Mussolini was truly antisemitic or indifferent. He enacted some laws to satisfy them, but Germany was unhappy since they were considered lax by their standards. Only foreign-born Jews living in Italy would be deported. Jews in Italy and its territories faced no deportations until the Germans took control in 1943.
The signing of the Pact of Steel on 22 May 1939 in Berlin Photographer unknown Public Domain/WIkimedia Commons
World War II did not go well for Italy. From losing battles and needing German assistance in Greece and North Africa, it began to wear thin. Inflation and rationing caused unrest; Allied bombings of Rome and other places brought it home. The invasion of Sicily in 1943 and later southern Italy showed that the war was lost. Disillusionment with Mussolini was now louder resulting in the Fascist Grand Council, with the support of King Emmanuel, ousting Mussolini and starting negotiations to end the war. The Germans were furious and Mussolini, being held at Hotel Campo Imperatore on a remote mountain top, was rescued. Germany would invade and take control of Italy and its territories. Mussolini was put in charge of an Italian puppet state and would execute many who had removed him from power, including his son-in-law Count Galeazzo Ciano.
By April 1945 with increased partisan attacks and Allied troops making their way towards Milan, Mussolini and his mistress Clara Petacci fled inside German transports heading north near the Swiss border on April 27. Mussolini had hoped to flee to Spain where he hoped Franco would give him sanctuary. Unfortunately, partisans stopped the German transports on. After exchanging gunfire and lengthy negotiations, the partisans were allowed to search for Italians in the transports. Mussolini had put on a Wehrmacht noncommissioned officers coat and a helmet but was recognized. He, his mistress, and about fifty other Italians with him (some were wives and children) were arrested. Mussolini was taken to Dongo on Lake Como, interrogated and then put into a room with others who had been captured with him. He made a statement critical of Hitler and saying Stalin was the victor. He also signed a statement he had not been ill-treated.
The following day he, Clara, and others with him were shot and killed. Contradictory statements by different people over the years has made it difficult to pinpoint exactly who gave the order. Many of the partisans were aligned with Communist groups backed by Moscow, which used a radio beamed from Moscow (Radio Milano-Libertà) for Italians to announce his arrest. So many believe it was in the chain of command within those groups that ordered Mussolini’s execution. There are also different accounts as to what happened during the actual execution. They were executed with several bullets in their chests. The bodies were taken to the Piazzale Loreto in Milan and dumped there for all to see. People threw vegetables, spat on them, urinated, kicked the famous head of Mussolini, and even shot more bullets into their bodies. By the time American troops arrived, the scene was out of control. The bodies were taken to a half-built service station and hung upside down for all to see. The famous photograph was distributed showing to the world that the Duce was dead.
Piazzale Loreto, 29 April 1945, the displayed bodies of executed Italian fascists. From left to right, Nicola Bombacci, Benito Mussolini, Claretta Petacci, Alessandro Pavolini, Achille Starace Photo: Vincenzo Carrese (1910–1981) Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
His body, first buried in an unmarked grave then stolen, recovered, and then hidden in a monastery, is now at the family crypt in Predappio in Romagna.
CriticalPast. “Dead Body of Benito Mussolini Lay on a Street of the Village Giulino Di Mezzegra …HD Stock Footage.” Video. YouTube, April 26, 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsnDmdVJtPE.
On 27 April 1865 the steamboat Sultana, carrying recently released Union prisoners of war, exploded on the Mississippi River, killing 1,450 to 1,900 people. This disaster remains the deadliest maritime loss in U.S. history.
Sultana 26 April 1865 at Helena, Arkansas and obviously overcrowded. So many crowded on the port side to be in the photograph that it caused issues for the ship. Original source: United States Library of Congress Public Domain Photo: Public Domain (U.S. Library of Congress, digital id#cph.3a48909)
The Sultana was built as a side-wheel steamboat in Cincinnati in 1863. The 260-foot-long wood steamboat transported passengers and freight between St. Louis and New Orleans on the Mississippi River. She was powered by four fire-tube boilers which could generate twice the amount of steam as conventional boilers. The one major drawback is that each boiler required water levels to be always maintained. Since it used river water, this had to be carefully monitored as sediment would block flues. And if the water level got too low hot spots would develop and an explosion would occur. With steamboats of this period using light weight wood that was covered with oil-based paint, fires were a major concern.
J. Cass Mason was the Sultana’s captain and was part owner. He was an experienced captain but had gotten into trouble trying to ship contraband. The Sultana departed St. Louis on 13 April 1865 for New Orleans. When he arrived at Cairo, Illinois on 15 April, he learned the shocking news of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Grabbing a stack of newspapers, he immediately departed south as many places had no telegraph and would not learn the news of this event. Arriving in Vicksburg, he was approached by Captain Reuben Hatch, the chief quartermaster. He had a problem. The recently released Union Army prisoners of war needed to get home. And the government was willing to pay $2.75 for each enlisted man and $8.00 for each officer. Hatch knew that Mason needed the money and offered a 1,0000 Army soldiers. To secure this “guarantee” though, Hatch would get a kickback. Mason agreed and the Sultana continued its journey to New Orleans. Sultana departed New Orleans on 21 April 1865 with approximately 70 passengers, some livestock, and a crew of 85. On the way to Vicksburg, one of the boilers leaked and the steamboat limped into Vicksburg to pick up the Union prisoners heading home.
The boiler needed immediate repair but that would take several days. Mason was concerned that this delay would cost him money and other steamboats would take the released Union prisoners. The mechanic was ordered to make temporary repairs which only took a day hoping to make the full repair when he arrived back in St. Louis. Meanwhile the Sultanabegan taken on the prisoners. The ship had an official capacity of 376 people but would take on 1,950 of the prisoners along with 22 guards and 70 passengers. Every available space was used, and the overflow was so severe that at some places there was noticeable creaking and sagging requiring wooden beams for support. As Sultana departed on 24 April, it was carrying 2,127 people. Making matters worse, a massive Spring flood had occurred making it difficult traveling upriver. When she arrived in Helena, Arkansas on 26 April, a photo was taken showing how overcrowded the vessel was. Arriving at Memphis that night, she unloaded 200 men and sugar before departing around midnight to pick up coal upriver. Around 1 am, the ship continued its journey.
At 2:00 am on 27 April 1865 when Sultana was about seven miles north of Memphis, a massive explosion occurred with one boiler and then the three others exploded. The effect was catastrophic with it tearing through the crowded decks killing many and destroying the pilothouse. The ship was a burning hulk without anyone to steer it. The smokestacks collapsed causing further damage and death. Many became trapped inside as the forward part of the upper deck collapsed onto the middle deck. The twin openings of the main stairway survived allowing many to run down them. However, broken wood on the ship caught fire with the now exposed furnace boxes turning the ship into a raging inferno. Many jumped into the water, some in whole groups. Many were still recovering from their imprisonment and lacked the strength to survive. Whole groups of men clung together in desperation and perished together. Some grabbed ahold of debris to stay afloat.
The steamer Bostona was already heading downriver and came upon the scene at 2:30 am. She rescued scores of survivors in the water. Meanwhile many who had survived were being carried downriver by the current towards Memphis. There were cries of help heard and this caused the docked ships, several steamers and naval ships, to come to their aid. The water was icy cold from the spring runoff and many perished from hypothermia or drowned. A few survivors were even found on trees near the swollen riverbanks. Bodies of victims would be found downriver for months. Nearly all the Sultana’s officers perished including Captain James Cass Mason.
The news was greeted with shock when it was reported. Then it disappeared from the news. The assassination of President Lincoln and hunting down the assassin and those who aided him filled the news. It was not forgotten by the survivors nor by the people of Memphis, who went out of their way to assist those who had survived the disaster. The official investigation concluded that improper water levels along with overcrowding and being top heavy all contributed to the disaster. Another investigation in 2015 suggests that the quality of the metal in the boilers, the use of river water often filled with sediment, and the design of the boilers all contributed to the explosion. Some have speculated that sabotage was involved and while intriguing, no proof has been found to substantiate it. The PBS show History Detectives (2 July 2014) debunks those claims and focuses on the overcrowding and corruption as the major issues.
Despite the catastrophe, no one was held accountable. The military commission that investigated the tragedy determined the boiler explosion was the cause and discounted entirely the fact the ship was overloaded. J. J. Witzig, the supervising inspector of steamboats, found that the patch used for the emergency repair was too thin for the pressure of the return trip. There were other inquiries that pointed fingers at various officers that resulted in the overcrowding of the Sultana. Ultimately a court martial was ordered and both Captain Hatch and Captain Frederic Speed, who had overseen the troops being sent to the ship, were ordered to appear. Hatch, who had allegations of corruption in the past and had been promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, never appeared. Speed was found guilty of all charges and to be dismissed from the service. This was overturned by the Army Judge Advocate General who determined Speed was not responsible for the actual loading, but Captain George Augustus Williams was.
It was Williams inaccurate numbers to Speed that caused problems with the exact numbers aboard Sultana. Williams was not prosecuted by the Army. Hatch, on the other hand, was relieved of his duties as chief quartermaster on 3 June 1865. Sometime later he was aboard the steamer Atlanticcarrying $14,490 in government money. A thief broke into the safe stealing the money but was captured before docking in St. Louis. However, there was $8,500 missing from the government money that Hatch claimed was in the safe. He was found in violation of government regulations in transporting the money and held liable for its loss.
In the wake of the disaster, safety laws for steamships were changed. The boilers responsible for the explosion were banned. The Act of 1871 established and revised the older Steamboat Act by creating a Steamboat Inspection Service giving it power to regulate all commercial steam-powered vessels, implement measures to protect passengers and crews, requiring licensing of ship masters and chief mates (and the authority to revoke them), and issue nautical rules for steamboat operations. This would shift to the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation (BMIN) in 1936 which was part of the Commerce Department. It would shift to the Coast Guard starting in World War II and has stayed there ever since.
The remains of the Sultana were found 1982 but not in the Mississippi River but under a soybean field on the Arkansas side of the river. The Mississippi River has changed course over the years and so now the remains are on dry land and 2 miles east of where it was in 1865. Various memorials exist to the victims. The Sultana Disaster Museum has opened in Marion, Arkansas. The disaster remains as one of the worst maritime disasters in the United States and yet few know of it.
Fascinating Horror, “The Sinking of the Sultana | a Short Documentary | Fascinating Horror,” Video, YouTube, November 16, 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08Q-7YKw_RY.
The History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembered, “The Sultana Explosion, a Maritime Disaster,” Video, YouTube, March 23, 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DLKI4VltuE.
[This has been rewritten from 2025 with updated sources, grammar and spelling corrections.]
RMS Olympic Arrives In New York on Maiden Voyage, 21 June 1911 Source: U.S. Library of Commerce/Wikimedia Commons Public Domain
The revelation that there were not enough lifeboats on Titanic led to an immediate change for the ocean liners. Up until the disaster, the general response was that putting more lifeboats aboard ships was impractical as it took away deck space. Almost immediately after Titanic sank they found room for them and proudly told passengers they could now travel in peace knowing of this.
RMS Olympic, Titanic’s sister ship, was scheduled to depart from Southampton on April 24, 1912. They had added 40 collapsible lifeboats they had gotten from troopships to have enough lifeboats for all passengers. However, some crew aboard Olympic were not convinced they were seaworthy. They requested they be replaced by wooden lifeboats, but this was denied. White Star said they were deemed seaworthy by a Board of Trade inspector. 284 firemen went on strike protesting the collapsible lifeboats as unsafe causing departure to be delayed. White Star hired non-union strikers to replace them.
New lifeboats being loaded on RMS Olympic, Titanic’s sister-ship Circa 22 April 1912-25 April 1912 Author Unknown Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
On the following day, representatives of the strikers witnessed a test of four collapsible boats; one was found unseaworthy. The representatives said they would recommend the strikers return to work. However, a separate complaint was lodged about the non-union workers; White Star refused to fire them. 54 crew members left the ship in protest resulting in the ship’s departure being canceled. They would be all charged and convicted of mutiny, but no penalty was awarded due to the circumstances. White Star would hire them all back due to the support they had received from the public. The departure was rescheduled and Olympic would sail for New York on May 15, 1912.
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Lord, Walter, A NIGHT TO REMEMBER, Holt Rinehart and Winston, New York, New York, 1955. Multiple revisions and reprints, notably Illustrated editions (1976,1977,1978 etc.)
Lord, Walter, THE NIGHT LIVES ON, Willian Morrow and Company, New York, New York, 1986 (First Edition)
July 1947 photo of the rear entrance to the Führerbunker in the garden of the Reich Chancellery. German Federal Archives, Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-V04744 / CC-BY-SA 3.0
The defeat of German forces at the Battle of the Bulge in December 1945 ended any serious attempt by German forces to launch any further major military campaigns. In March 1945 American forces captured the Ludendorff Bridge intact allowing them to enter Germany over the Rhine. Meanwhile Soviet forces were pushing in from the East and closing in on Berlin. Due to Allied air attacks on Berlin, Hitler and his staff relocated from the Reich Chancellery to the Fuhrerbunker. This underground complex served as the command center for the Third Reich in the last months of its existence.
Hitler had remained inside this complex from the beginning of January 1945 only briefly coming up on April 20, his 56th birthday, to award the Iron Cross to Hitler Youth boys. On April 22, 1945, Soviet troops began entering Berlin suburbs meeting no resistance. When informed, Hitler was enraged and denounced the army for failing him and Germany. He stated that he knew the war was lost and despite being offered a way to flee south, decided to stay. Hermann Goering, his once designated successor, now would try to seize power under a 1941 decree giving him the power believing Hitler had incapacitated himself from power. It failed and he was forced to resign and put under house arrest. Hitler would later expel him from the Nazi Party. Heinrich Himmler was also trying to negotiate with the Allies via Sweden. When the BBC reported on April 28 that this was going on, Hitler was stunned as he considered Himmler one of his most loyal persons serving under him. He ordered Himmler’s aide in the bunker, who had been captured trying to desert, to be court-martialed and shot. He ordered Himmler’s arrest, expelled him from the Nazi party, and stripped him of all his titles. The once invincible Third Reich was in its last days.
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[This has been rewritten from 2025 and includes more source citations.]
News of the Titanic sinking and the large number that died shocked people all over the world. There were demands on both sides of the Atlantic for an investigation as to how this tragedy had occurred. Cartoonists depicted the number of dead to the lifeboats available with a large question mark as to why lifeboats for all were not there. Scathing commentary too that Ismay had survived while so many died were made as well. U.S. Senator William Alden Smith from Michigan was appalled by the tragedy and called, along with others, for a Senate inquiry into what happened. The formal proposal was made on April 17, 1912.The British were outraged believing they had sole jurisdiction since the ship was a British flagged steamer. Smith and others countered that since the ship was owned by an American corporation, that the U.S. had also the right to hold an inquiry. Attempts to stop it went right to the top where President Taft was asked to oppose it. He declined since his friend and military aide, Archibald Butt, died in the sinking.
Senator William Alden Smith of Michigan Unknown date (between 1905 and 1945) Public Domain
Smith, a lifelong Republican, was more progressive than some of his party and wanted to determine if White Star had liability for what happened. He and Senator Francis Newlands along with others quickly traveled by train to New York to be there when Carpathia docked on 18 April. They boarded the ship after it was docked and had subpoenas handed out to Ismay, all the surviving Titanic officers, and Captain Rostron. Other parties-crew, survivors, and Captain Stanley Lord and crew of Californian-would be asked to testify as well. The hearings would begin at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York and later be moved to Washington D.C. at the Russell Senate Office Building. The hearings, with many recesses in-between, would run for 18 days till May 25, 1912.
The subcommittee doing the inquiry was composed of seven senators (three Republicans and three Democrats) with Smith as chair. While members could ask questions of witnesses, Smith reserved the right to question the chief witnesses. This led to some friction as some members thought he was trying to seize the limelight resulting in some members not showing up for scheduled hearings. The British press and government harshly condemned the inquiry and Smith personally. Smith was portrayed poorly as an out-of-control ego centered senator wanting to use the tragedy to gain prominence. The inquiry was condemned for having no jurisdiction in the press and by the government. President Taft was not immune either from criticism for allowing this to happen. The row carried out in front page headlines daily and the British government made very clear it was against the inquiry.
Sketch of J. Bruce Ismay giving testimony before U.S. Senate Titanic inquiry. Public Domain (via Wikipedia)
The inquiry heard testimony from the Titanic surviving officers, crew, and survivors in particular Charles Lightoller, Frederick Fleet, Harold Bride, and First-Class passenger Archibald Gracie. Captain Arthur Rostron of Carpathia, Captain Stanley Lord of California, and Captain Herbert Haddock of RMS Olympic testified. The inquiry heard expert testimony about the Marconi radio telegraph, icebergs and about the news coverage. Of particular interest was how the messages got so mixed up as to render confusing reports of the situation. Phillip Franklin, the vice-president of International Mercantile Marine, testified as well. Smith also visited the RMS Olympic when it was in port in New York on May 25, 1912 to inspect the ship and interview some of the crew.
The official report was delivered to the United States Senate on May 28, 1912. The report, nineteen pages long and with 44 exhibits, summarized over 1,145 pages of testimony and sworn affidavits. Its findings and recommendations, echoed by the British Inquiry that would come later, would make changes to safety practices on ships at sea. The key findings are:
The ship was unprepared for the emergency due, that no general alarm was given, there was no orderly routine for the evacuations nor an organized system of safety.
There was no testing of the safety and life-saving equipment.
Captain Edward Smith showed indifference to the danger and contributed to the tragedy.
The lack of lifeboats aboard was due to British Board of Trade lax regulation on lifeboats needed. The report also criticized the speed of the sea trials as hasty.
The SS Californian was nearer to Titanic than what its captain claimed it was and requested the British government act against him.
That the presence of White Star Line president, J. Bruce Ismay, may have contributed to Captain Smith’s decision to increase speed.
Third-Class passengers, while not prevented from getting to the lifeboats, did not realize until far too late that Titanic was sinking.
The report criticized the seafaring practices that had led to complacency and how each component-from the builders, owners and crew–all contributed to its demise.There was no finding of negligence by the subcommittee and while the actions that led up to the disaster were a problem, the disaster itself was considered an “act of God.”
Smith had hoped to prove negligence as that would have helped those who lost relatives and cargo get damages. However, due to laws limiting liability unless you could prove negligence, most would never get much compensation from White Star. They did settle legal claims brought against them, but the amount paid was far less than it could have been. Those who were employed by outside vendors, such as Wallace Hartley and his band, had no legal recourse against White Star. The firm that employed them tried to bill their relatives for the lost items (lyre lapel insignia or White Star logo) required to be worn. One of them sent the bill to the Amalgamated Musicians’ Union which reprinted it in the monthly newsletter. The controversy it generated showed how much had changed. Musicians were paid modest fees for their services and the fact that their employer demanded payment for lost pins or buttons that were lost when they died at sea was considered outrageous. There is no record that the company was paid nor that they sought legal action to collect.
Captain Smith, while found complacent and failed to have proper drills for the crew to handle the lifeboats, was not found negligent. Ismay was still a villain for surviving in the press, but Captain Stanley Lord of Californian faced severe criticism for the indifference he and his crew showed to the rockets that were seen. He would never shake it, and the British Inquiry also harshly judged him as well. He would be fired by the Leyland Line in August 1912 but found employment with the Nitrate Producers Steamship Co. where he stayed until 1927.
Sources
Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Books
Behe, George TITANIC: SAFETY, SPEED AND SACRIFICE, Transportation Trails, Polo, IL 1997
Lord, Walter, A NIGHT TO REMEMBER, Holt Rinehart and Winston, New York, New York, 1955. Multiple revisions and reprints, notably Illustrated editions (1976,1977,1978 etc.)
Lord, Walter, THE NIGHT LIVES ON, Willian Morrow and Company, New York, New York, 1986 (First Edition)
Titanic survivors aboard Carpathia. U.S. Library of Congress, digital id: cph 3b04287 Public Domain
Since the sinking, the Carpathia has maintained a radio silence refusing to acknowledge except the most required about its upcoming arrival in New York. Names of those who were rescued were transmitted via the RMS Olympic to Cape Race and onto New York where the White Star Line made the names known to the public. Many had gathered outside their offices in New York City to learn the fate of those aboard Titanic. Messages from survivors were transmitted from Carpathia to their relatives.
Boats of news reporters went out to meet Carpathia as it entered. Using megaphones, they yelled to people on deck hoping to get something. One reporter did manage to get aboard and get some interviews before tossing a cigar box filled with his notes that was lined with champagne corks to his editor waiting in a tugboat. It would swiftly be taken to the New York Herald and published. A large crowd, estimated at around 10,000 to see Carpathia come down the battery and about 1,000 where the ship was to dock. J.P. Morgan along with families of the famous people aboard such as the Astor, Thayer, and Widener families were there. Many had been on the special train that was mistakenly sent to Halifax believing Titanic was headed there to dock.
Bain News Service, Publisher. Crowd awaiting survivors from CARPATHIA. , 1912. [April date created or published later by Bain] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2014690330/. Public Domain
It was raining that evening as Carpathia made its way to its dock but stopped first at the White Star Line dock to drop off the Titanic lifeboats. These lifeboats, except for the flotsam and jetsam on the ocean, were all that was left of the once great ship RMS Titanic. This delayed Carpathia’s arrival as it had been scheduled to arrive at 8:30 pm and was not until after 9 pm at Pier 54 it finally docked with the gangway coming down at 9:25 pm. News reports indicate some were crying in the crowd. The crowd had been silent up to its arrival, but now that had changed. A detachment of doctors, nurses, nuns, and priests went aboard. Three women, not wanting to wait for the gangway to come down, used the ship ladders to get down. The Salvation Army also was there to help as well.
Most came off Carpathia wearing a hodgepodge of clothes they were able to get aboard ship. Men standing in the crowd took off their hats as a show of respect. Those who had relatives were greeted by them. Those who had no one were assisted by a variety of groups: Women’s Relief Committee, Travelers Aid Society of New York, the Council of Jewish Women and many more. Transportation to shelters was provided for. Those with relatives in New York left soon afterwards while those who were elsewhere in the US had to make travel arrangements. The Pennsylvania Railroad provided a special free train to take survivors to Philadelphia. Surviving Titanic crew members were taken to the Red Star Line steamer SS Lapland to be housed temporarily.
Among the people that boarded Carpathia that night were two U.S. Senators: William Alden Smith and Francis G. Newlands. They had subpoenas served on J. Bruce Ismay, the surviving Titanic officers and crew, and Captain Rostron. A formal inquiry was about to take place in the United States, and they were not going to wait for an official British inquiry down the road. Smith argued that since White Star Line was ultimately owned by an American company–International Mercantile Marine–the United States had every right to conduct an inquiry of its own. This would cause considerable anger in Britain over it and unfavorable depictions of Smith in its press. However, both inquiries would explore exactly how this tragedy occurred and how something so simple, having lifeboats for all, was not required by the British Board of Trade.
Sources
Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Lord, Walter, A NIGHT TO REMEMBER, Holt Rinehart and Winston, New York, New York, 1955. Multiple revisions and reprints, notably Illustrated editions (1976,1977,1978 etc.)
Lord, Walter, THE NIGHT LIVES ON, Willian Morrow and Company, New York, New York, 1986 (First Edition)
On April 18. 1906 San Francisco would suffer a devastating earthquake resulting in a massive fire that would destroy buildings, cause many deaths, leaving a city in ruins.
Northeast View of Post & Grant Avenues, San Francisco, 18 April 1906 Public Domain (National Archives and Records Administration, ARC Identifier: 524396)
San Francisco, once a small town with a large natural bay that was once known as Yerba Buena , grew rapidly during the Gold Rush of 1849. People seeking to find wealth passed through resulting in rapid growth as businesses grew to accommodate them in every possible way. The city would expand in size to handle the new housing needs by filling in areas with sediment. Most of this area would become known locally as “South of the Slot” meaning south of Market Street called today South of Market Area (SOMA). The earthquake of 1906 would show the difference between building on bedrock and sediment.
At 5:12 am on 18 April 1906, Northern California was brought forcefully out of sleep by an earthquake that was so powerful it was felt as far away as Oregon, portions of Nevada, and even Los Angeles. Lasting only 45-60 seconds, it measured between 7.7 and 7.9 on the Richter scale, though initially it was thought higher at 8.3. The earthquake destroyed buildings, ruptured gas and water lines, buckled streets, derailed trains on tracks, and in some places opening areas of land. Ruptured gas lines in San Francisco allowed gas to escape and ignite resulting in the massive fire that would burn to city taking with it buildings and people who had survived the earthquake. The most devasted areas of the earthquake itself were built on sediment. Buildings on bedrock escaped serious damage though the fire later did destroy buildings not destroyed by the earthquake itself.
The train was standing on a siding. Beyond are the buildings of the Point Reyes Hotel, and at the extreme right the ruin of a stone store which was shaken down.Point Reyes Station, west Marin County, California. April 18, 1906 Image: G.K. Gilbert Source: Photographs from the U.S. Geological Survey Photographic Library (CD-Rom) Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
Earthquake damage was not limited to San Francisco. Cities in California such as Santa Rosa were hit hard and the entire downtown was destroyed. Train tracks in many areas were damaged and trains sitting on tracks were derailed. Areas of land were split by the earthquake leaving a scar that would remain in some areas for decades. In San Francisco, the fire generated by the igniting of gas spread causing widespread damage resulting in mandatory evacuations. The U.S. Army was called in to assist with this and with putting out the fire. The attempt to use explosives to destroy buildings that would spread fire proved to make things worse. It spread embers that started other fires. Making matters worse was the lack of water. The earthquake had ruptured the water supply, and the fire chief was killed in the earthquake. Worse due to corruption, some construction of the city’s buildings was shown to have been built poorly.
People were evacuated to parks; some were able to flee on ferries across the bay; camps were set up for those displaced by the fires. When it was over, an estimated 3,000 people died from the earthquake and subsequent fires. Thousands were left homeless and needed new homes. A large part of San Francisco was in ruins with rebuilding on a large scale needed. The problem for the city leaders was that they had to convince people San Francisco was safe so they would stay. So, a scheme was concocted to make the fires, not the earthquake, the reason for the destruction. Conveniently left out was the fact the earthquake caused the gas lines to break and caused massive destruction on areas built just on sediment or better known as landfill. The city leaders made sure, and evidence later confirmed it, to downplay the earthquake and make the fires the culprit. Rebuilding began and no new rules were put into place to make sure buildings built on landfill were safer. It would not be until late in the 20th century that building codes would be altered to make buildings better able to handle earthquakes.
By the time of the Loma Prieta Earthquake of 1989, many new buildings were constructed to handle earthquakes such as the one I was in that day. The building swayed with the earthquake but did create some problems. Office equipment got thrown about and in a nearby office, a copier moved from one side of the room to the other, embedding itself in the wall. Chaos took place outside. Power was off and the electric buses were stopped. Traffic lights were down and the regional subway (BART) was shuttered because of the earthquake. In my building, the staff had no idea what to do so we had to fend for ourselves eventually heading down the emergency stairway to the street. There was debris on the street that fell off buildings. An old building across the street had its roof fall in. Lots of people were milling about not knowing what to do and police were not much in sight. Fortunately, I went over to the old Transbay Transit Center (now rebuilt as the Salesforce Transit Center) and caught a bus down to Daly City where I lived at the time. I would find out later that down in the Marina District buildings had collapsed and fires had broken out but fortunately the SF Fire Boat was able to assist in dousing some of the fires. The World Series at old Candlestick Park would have to be rescheduled.
Photograph of a collapsed facade of a building near Beach and Divisadero Streets in San Francisco October 1989 Photo: J.K. Nakata, United States Geological Survey Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
Fascinating Horror, “The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake | a Short Documentary | Fascinating Horror,” Video, YouTube, November 21, 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkz5BE6SDMY.
Front Page, New York Herald, 15 April 1912 Public Domain (U.S. Library of Congress,www.loc.gov)
As the world awaits news of who survived Titanic, the White Star Line decides to hire ships to go out and retrieve bodies. Reports of bodies floating in the Atlantic had been reported and White Star wanted to retrieve them as quickly as possible for several practical reasons. Ocean currents would eventually move them out of the area, so getting them retrieved as soon as possible would allow families to lay them to rest. Another reason for speed was that sea creatures and birds would start consuming the bodies making identification difficult as well. The cable ship Mackay Bennett was the first ship hired by White Star. Three other ships would be hired as well: Minia (a cable ship), Montmagny (lighthouse supply ship), and the sealing vessel Algerine.
CS Mackay Bennett (circa 1884) Artist Unknown Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons
Each ship would carry the necessary supplies to retrieve and embalm the bodies. The Mackay Bennett emptied itself of its normal stores in Halifax, Nova Scotia and brought aboard supplies for its new mission:
Embalming supplies and coffins (100)
Chief embalmer of John Snow & Co., John R. Snow Jr.
100 tons of ice to store the bodies
Canon Kenneth Hind of All Saints Cathedral, Halifax was aboard to officiate burials at sea.
As the Mackay Bennett had capacity for 125 coffins in her hold (and ice as well), she would carry most of the coffins being brought back to Halifax. Mackay Bennet departed Halifax at 12:28 pm on 17 April 1912. Heavy fog and rough seas delayed her arrival at the location where Titanic sank. Recovery started early in the morning using skiffs to bring back bodies to the shop. They quickly realized they did not have enough embalming supplies aboard to bring them ashore in Halifax. The law required that bodies be embalmed before unloading in a Canadian port. The following procedure was established to handle this:
First class passengers were embalmed and placed in coffins.
Second class passengers embalmed but wrapped in canvas.
Third class, crew, and bodies that were too decomposed or disfigured were buried at sea.
They found the bodies of John Jacob Astor IV (identified by his unique diamond ring and initials sewn on jacket label), American architect Edward Austin Kent, and Isidor Straus (Macy’s owner). Wallace Hartley, the Titanic band leader, was found with his violin strapped to his body. It was sent back to England aboard the SS Arabic and buried on 18 May 1912 at the Keighley Road Cemetery, Colne, Lancashire. Bodies buried at sea were officiated by Canon Hind.
Bodies that were brought back were either transported by relatives to their final resting place or interred in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Back in Halifax John Henry Barnstead, the Registrar of Vital Statistics, developed a system of identifying the bodies and protect personal possessions of the deceased. With Halifax having both rail and steamship connections, families could easy come to identify bodies of loved ones. A temporary morgue was set up using a local curling rink with undertakers to assist from all over the area. Many did send bodies back to their hometowns in the United States or Europe. Unclaimed and unidentified bodies were buried in Halifax. A total of 150 bodies is interred in Halifax cemeteries with the largest number at the Fairview Lawn Cemetery followed by Mount Olivet and Baron de Hirsch cemeteries.
Bodies from Titanic were reported in May. The Oceanic found three in Titanic’s Collapsible A two hundred miles from where Titanic sank. They had been left behind when Carpathia rescued the survivors in April. Oceanic retrieved their bodies and buried them at sea. One of the last to be found was steward James McCrady on 22 May by the SS Algerine. His body was brought back to Halifax and was buried in the Fairview Lawn Cemetery.
Family photograph from late 1911 obtained from family source Public Domain (Wikipedia)
By the end of its seven-day recovery operation, Mackay Bennett had recovered 306 of the 328 bodies they found. 116 were buried at sea and of them only 56 could be identified. They would return to Halifax with 190 bodies where they were transferred to the temporary morgue. Astor’s son had put up $100,000 reward for recovering his body, which was split among the crew ($2500 each). The body of a young child, unidentified at the time, which brought hardened men to tears, was given a grave at Fairview in which the entire ship’s crew attended along with many from Halifax. The child had become a symbol of the loss of life that occurred on Titanic. In 2007 using mitochondrial DNA the child was identified as 19-month-old Sidney Leslie Goodwin.
Only 333 bodies would be recovered of the more than 1,500 dead. Many bodies were swept away by currents never to be recovered. Life jackets would eventually degrade over time allowing bodies to sink; bodies would be consumed by sea life and birds. For many there would be no opportunity to bid farewell to family or friends that perished that fateful day in the cold Atlantic Ocean.
Sources
(Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.)
Behe, George TITANIC: SAFETY, SPEED AND SACRIFICE, Transportation Trails, Polo, IL 1997
Lord, Walter, A NIGHT TO REMEMBER, Holt Rinehart and Winston, New York, New York, 1955. Multiple revisions and reprints, notably Illustrated editions (1976,1977,1978 etc.)
Lord, Walter, THE NIGHT LIVES ON, Willian Morrow and Company, New York, New York, 1986 (First Edition)
Titanic lost: Belfast Telegraph front page on 16 April 1912 Source: Belfast Telegraph
News of the sinking stunned the world. In the United States, messages from Titanic and other ships got mixed up and jumbled together giving false hope that Titanic had survived. At one-point, White Star Line had charted a special train to take families to Halifax where Titanic would arrive with its passengers. It was stopped halfway when the truth was learned and returned to New York. At the White Star Line office where hope had turned to sorrow, people came to learn whether their loved ones had survived. Lists of the survivors were sent to Cape Race via the Olympic and then to the White Star office. The names of those who didn’t survive were shocking.
New York Times Front Page 16 April 1912 Public Domain (Wikimedia Commons)
Communications with Carpathian were limited. Outside of the list sent via Olympic and required messages about estimated time of arrival in New York, requests for information sent to the ship went unanswered even from U.S. President William Howard Taft. Taft wanted to know if his friend and military advisor Archibald Butt had survived. But the blackout remained. In Britain and elsewhere, there was no mixing of messages. They learned of it very quickly and newspapers reported it. In Belfast where the Titanic had been built, it was as if a family member had died.
Titanic was mostly hand built and employed thousands for large and small projects. Some drove the rivets sealing the metal plates to the ship. Others did detail work on the inside: doors, windows, cabinets, trimmings of all kinds. There were no prefabricated materials back then, you custom built just about everything for Titanic. Francis Parkinson Jr’s father was a skilled woodworker on Titanic. He fashioned many of the elegant doors. And he remembers vividly not only seeing the giant ship being built but the day she was reported sunk. He recalled seeing the news poster where the paper boy was selling papers and it had just two words:
Titanic Sunk
His father ran out to get the special edition and read it in shock. And then like many who had worked on it, cried. None could believe the ship they had worked on was gone. So many prominent people from both sides of the Atlantic perished as well. The sinking of Titanic was a gut punch to firmly held beliefs of man’s steady progress. It was the death of a dream for many and the world was made less certain because of it.
Colorised photo of Ned Parfett, best known as the “Titanic paperboy”, holding a large newspaper about the sinking, standing outside the White Star Line offices at Oceanic House on Cockspur Street near Trafalgar Square in London SW1, April 16, 1912. Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
Sources
(Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.)
Behe, George TITANIC: SAFETY, SPEED AND SACRIFICE, Transportation Trails, Polo, IL 1997
Lord, Walter, A NIGHT TO REMEMBER, Holt Rinehart and Winston, New York, New York, 1955. Multiple revisions and reprints, notably Illustrated editions (1976,1977,1978 etc.)
Lord, Walter, THE NIGHT LIVES ON, Willian Morrow and Company, New York, New York, 1986 (First Edition)
