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Titanic

Titanic News-Another Side to Titanic Survivor Dorothy Gibson, 10 Ships (not Titanic) that Sank on Maiden Voyage

10 Lesser-Known Ships That Sank During Their Maiden Voyages (Nation.lk, 14 Feb 2022)

We’re all familiar with the story of the RMS Titanic, the British passenger liner that hit an iceberg in the Atlantic ocean and sank during her maiden voyage in 1912. What few people realize, however, is that the Titanic was not the first ship to sink during its first journey, and by no means the last. Some faced a similarly overwhelming number of casualties, while others were more fortunate. From German battleships to Dutch trading vessels, here are ten lesser-known ships that sank during their maiden voyages.

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The First Protagonist Of The Titanic Was A Survivor Of The Tragedy And A Target Of The Nazis (Code List, 12 Feb 2022)

What happened during those years is the subject of rumors and theories. It was said that, initially, Gibson was a sympathizer of Nazism and also that he was an intelligence agent, although the information that has reached our days in this regard is unreliable and contradictory. In 1944, Gibson refused to participate in the Nazi regime and was arrested as an anti-fascist agitator. The exactress was incarcerated in a prison in Milan, from where she managed to escape with two other prisoners, a journalist and a general, both Italians. The Archbishop of Milan, Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster, was a key figure in rescuing him. The second of his life.


Titanic

Titanic Baker Buried in New Jersey

RMS Titanic pictured in Queenstown, Ireland 11 April 1912
Source:Cobh Heritage Centre, Cobh Ireland/Wikimedia Commons

An interesting piece from Only In Your State about Charles Joughin, Joughin was a baker on Titanic and in fact had retired for the night when the ship hit the iceberg. He helped people into lifeboats and likely was on the last persons to leave the ship when the aft sank. He is famously remembered for drinking alcohol (a real no-no under Captain Smith) and tossing deck chairs into the water to use as flotation devices. He also made bread for the lifeboats as well. He survived the sinking and made it ultimately to the turned over collapsible lifeboat that Lightoller and others were on. It already had 20-25 people already on it and had to stay in the water until another lifeboat showed up and he was able to board that. He would recuperate in New York, testified at the British Inquiry, and continue with his life. He would be aboard another ship, the SS Congress, that would also sink as well. The ship caught fire and the quick thinking captain beached the vessel (no one died). Joughin would settle in New Jersey and remain there for the remainder of his life. He passed away on 9 December 1956 and is buried next to his wife Nellie in the Cedar Lawn Cemetery.

He was depicted in A Night to Remember and James Cameron’s Titanic.

Source:

The Last Survivor To Leave The Sinking Titanic Is Buried In A Rural New Jersey Graveyard (OnlyInYourState.com, 24 Dec 2021)

Additional Information:

Encyclopedia Titanica (2019): Charles John Joughin (ref: #1945, last updated: 17th October 2019, accessed 27th December 2021 08:15:41 AM)

 


Titanic

Titanic News-Conspiracy Theories, Rare Postcard, and Unique Home You Can Have For Free

Owner of NJ Estate Wants to Give Away Historic Home for Free, But It Comes With a Catch (NBC New York, 12 Dec 2021)

The 82-year-old’s hope is to find someone to take care of the home after he dies someday, and is fine with giving it all away at no cost. But there is a catch: Whomever takes over the estate must preserve the blueprint as is.  The expansive property also includes a bamboo forest, and comes with a driveway with gates once owned by a family aboard the Titanic.

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Antiques Roadshow Expert Emotional As He Uncovers Value Of Titanic Postcard: ‘Powerful (Daily Express, 10 Dec 2021)

Antiques Roadshow visited the National Maritime Museum in Falmouth where visitors flooded in to value their most precious possessions. During the programme, expert Adam Schoon examined what looked like an ordinary postcard. Upon closer inspection, the auctioneer discovered it had been written by a passenger onboard the Titanic before it sank in 1912. The TV presenter examined the item before shocking his guest after revealing its enormous value.

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The Titanic Never Sank And Other Conspiracy Theories Surrounding The Tragic Ocean Liner (Laronge Now, 2 Dec 2021)

In recent years, conspiracy theorists started questioning the validity of this tragedy. It may sound wild, but they do have a few interesting points that we can’t ignore. It’s true that a ship sank to the North Atlantic’s floor in 1912 and that about 1,500 passengers died aboard that day. Although on the conspiracy front, some say the Titanic wasn’t exactly what British-owned parent company, the White Star Line, had promised. Some say the White Star Line switched up their ships in an insurance fraud scheme, while others contend that the sinking was plotted in order to kill specific people.

 For those interested in watching Great Lakes freighters arrive and depart from Duluth, check out the webcam. You can view ship schedules here.


Titanic

Titanic News-Laughter on Titanic, The Man who Had the Key to Titanic Binoculars, Titanic Tour

Titanic Exhibition: The Londoner And The Captain Who Were Seized By Fits Of Giggles After The Ship Hit An Iceberg (MyLondon. 13 Nov 2021)

We’re so used to hearing tales of doom and tragedy about the sinking of the Titanic that’s it’s surprising to find a funny story about it. As a major exhibition prepares to open in London next year at an as-yet-undisclosed location to mark the 110th anniversary of the 1912 tragedy, MyLondon is investigating the lives of the Londoners who were aboard the ill-fated ship. In the process, MyLondon came across the rather incredible yet touching story of the 22-year-old signalman who was cracking up in fits of laughter while sending SOS signals from the freezing ship.

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Seaman Blamed for Sinking Titanic Was A TRUE Hero: Bravery Medals Of Officer Who Unwittingly Pocketed Key For Binoculars Cabinet Before Disembarking Doomed Ship Are Set To Fetch £15,000 At Auction (Daily Mail, 12 Nov 2021)

He’s infamous as the sailor who was blamed by some for the sinking of the Titanic, but the collection of medals which belonged to David Blair reveal his true heroism. In his haste to disembark, however, he forgot to leave a key which was needed in the crow’s nest to access binoculars and a telescope. As such, Blair is known to history for his unwitting part in the sinking – but the officer had in fact won a series of prestigious medals for his bravery and military service. Roughly a year after the Titanic sank, Aldridge was serving as first officer on the SS Majestic – another White Star ocean liner – when he swam to the rescue of a drowning man who had thrown himself overboard. For his bravery, King George V awarded Blair a Sea Gallantry Medal at Buckingham Palace. He earned further medals during the First World War, when he served with distinction in the navy.

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Travel: Titanic Tour Offers a Tale Of Two Irish Ports Linked By Tragic Ship (The Sunday Post, 12 Nov 2021)

The Titanic Centre in Belfast is one of the island’s most popular attractions. Located next to the Titanic slipways and the former shipyard Drawing Offices, the centre is at the heart of where the Titanic was planned, designed, built and launched. It took Belfast a long time to come to terms with the Titanic’s fate. The Titanic Centre was opened to mark the centenary of the sinking. The long gestation was due to a mixture of shame and embarrassment surrounding the ship’s tragic end. For a long time, the city’s tour guides quipped “she was all right when she left here” but ultimately it was realised that other cities around the world such as Halifax, Nova Scotia and Orlando, Florida were telling a story, through exhibitions, that could really only be told properly in Belfast.


Titanic

Titanic News: Ballard on Secret Mission;Titanic Movie Stars Helped Titanic Survivor; Changes to Maritime Law Coming

The US Navy Backed The Hunt For Titanic In Part Because The Explorer Who Found It Argued It Would ‘Drive The Soviets Crazy,’ Book Reveals Business Insider (India), 23 Sep 2021

The man who found the Titanic did so with help from the US Navy, and he got that much needed support in part by convincing the Navy that finding the shipwreck would “drive the Soviets crazy,” renowned explorer Robert Ballard reveals in the new book “Into The Deep,” which was co-written with investigative reporter Christopher Drew. Over the course of his celebrated career, Ballard has discovered the wrecks of the Nazi battleship Bismarck, the US aircraft carrier Yorktown, and US patrol torpedo boat PT-109 (commanded by then Lt. j.g. John F. Kennedy). But his most recognizable discovery was the British passenger ship Titanic that sank in the North Atlantic on April 15, 1912, ending more than 1,500 lives.

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When the Stars of Titanic Helped Pay the Bills for the Last Titanic Survivor MSN (via Mental_Floss), 24 Sep 2021

So in early May of that year, Irish author Don Mullan, a longtime friend of Dean’s, led the charge to raise money for her. He himself sold copies of a photo he’d taken of Dean and turned his earnings over to what was dubbed the “Millvina Fund.” And then he called upon the major players in the making of 1997’s Titanic—namely, James Cameron, Kate Winslet, Leonardo DiCaprio, 20th Century Fox, and Celine Dion—to match his contribution. “There were people out there who could, and I felt, morally should, help her. To fail Millvina Dean, the last tangible living link to the Titanic, would make a mockery of the world’s expressed concern for the tragedy,” Mullan explained to Independent.ie. His public plea actually worked. According to Reuters, Cameron, Winslet, and DiCaprio gave a combined $30,000 to the fund. Dean, for her part, was mainly just bothered by the influx of phone calls brought on by the attention.

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Bill Would Change Maritime Liability Rules After Boat Fire MSN (via AP), 22 Sept 2021

Federal lawmakers introduced legislation Wednesday that would change 19th century maritime liability rules in response to the 2019 boat fire off the coast of Southern California that killed 34 people. The bill would update the Limitation of Liability Act of 1851, under which boat owners can limit their liability to the value of the remains of the vessel. The legislation would be retroactively applied to the families of Conception victims if it passes, officials said. The tragedy was one of the deadliest maritime disasters in recent U.S. history.


Titanic

Titanic News-Titanic Lego May Be 12,000 Bricks, Sinking Slide Reappearance, Countess of Rothes Home Becoming Flats

The Rumoured LEGO Titanic Could Include Over 12,000 BricksBrickfanatics.com, 9 Sep 2021

First details for the rumoured LEGO Titanic set have surfaced including the size, release date and price of the potentially massive model. A new report for the long-rumoured LEGO Titanic build has appeared online thanks to lego_club_news on Instagram. If true, this could be easily the largest official LEGO set to release, beating that of 10276 Colosseum and even 31203 World Map.

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Leslie House: Restoration Finally Under Way At The Home Of Titanic Heroine
The Courier, 9 Sep 2021

The A-listed building, home of Titanic heroine the Countess of Rothes, was gutted by fire in 2009 and has since been targeted by vandals. But it will soon be transformed into 28 flats after planning permission was granted last year. And a further eight houses will also be built in the grounds. The work is being done by Byzantium Developments, who say it will bring one of Scotland’s most at risk mansion houses back to its former glory.

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Titanic Bouncy Slide
Photo:public domain

Sinking Titanic’ Slide Makes Another Appearance At A Chicago Street Fest, For Some Reason
Chicago Sun-Times, 8 Sept 2021

Since the sinking of the Titanic more than 100 years ago, the maritime tragedy has been etched into our collective memory, in large part thanks to a mid-90s blockbuster movie that turned the ill-fated voyage into a thrilling epic of romance and disaster. These days, kids in Chicago apparently have another way to remember the Titanic: a giant inflatable slide that keeps showing up at local street fairs, including one that happened last weekend in Roscoe Village.

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Islands of Ireland: The Opulent Bradock Island With Links To The Titanic
Irish Examiner, 6 Sep 2021

The island has been owned by the Andrews family for over 150 years who have had strong links to political life in the North. With judges and MPs among their numbers, including a prime minister John Andrews, the family was synonymous with political life in the North for many years. One son chose a different career path and it was a choice that would ultimately lead to his death.

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How Transatlantic Ocean Liners Ferried Women Into The Workforce
Wburg.org, 6 Sep 2021

Evans shared these womens’ stories at a recent virtual event put on by the American Ancestors Speaker series from the New England Historic Genealogical Society. There was great danger on the ships: The Titanic struck an iceberg. The Lusitania was torpedoed in 1915. The Britannic hit a mine in 1916. Violet Jessop survived all three sinkings and witnessed lifeboats being lowered from the Britannic right into rising propellers. Jessop was a stewardess serving first-class passengers — part of a new female workforce unparalleled on land.

 


Titanic

Iceberg Wall Collapse Injures 3 At Titanic In Pigeon Forge

This is not something you want to happen at at a tourist site. Apparently the ice wall at the Pigeon Forge Titanic exhibition collapsed injuring 3 people on Monday night. So far there are no reports of major injuries, Hopefully more details will be released in the coming days.

Iceberg Wall Collapse Injures 3 At Titanic In Pigeon Forge
WVLT8, 2 Aug 2021

Three guests have been injured due to an iceberg wall collapse at the Titanic Museum Attraction in Pigeon Forge. Pigeon Forge Police responded to the museum around 7:56 p.m. Monday. Officers said they arrived to find that a wall of ice display fell and injured several visitors. Three people were transported to area hospitals, officials said. The extent of their injuries are unknown, according to officials. According to police, preliminary evidence indicates the incident was accidental.


Titanic

Wallace Hartley’s Violin Reminds us of Tragic Loss

Photo: Public Domain(Wikipedia)

I recall some years ago when Wallace Hartley’s violin was found and the incredible amount of attention it generated. It truly was a great find. The actual violin that Titanic  band leader Wallace Hartley played on the ship had been discovered. It was in a bag on his body and was later stored and nearly forgotten.

Of course there was a lot of skepticism, as there should be. There have been a lot of scams of fake Titanic memorabilia being passed off as genuine in the past. The violin was rigorously examined and tested to make sure it was authentic. It was and ultimately auctioned off (the winning bidder was anonymous). Here is an interesting story looking into the violin and its importance not only to him but his fiancee that sadly was never to be his wife.

How a Violin Auction Resurrected the Tragic Love Story of the Titanic’s Heroic Band Leader
MyModernMet.com, 30 Jul 2021

Hartley’s body was pulled from the water 10 days after the Titanic sank. Strapped to the bandleader, the rescuers found a leather valise with the initials W.H.H. Inside was his violin case and treasured instrument, as well as some musical scores. For decades, the violin was lost to public knowledge. However, upon its resurfacing in 2006, the rest of the sad story of Hartley and his fiancée has been illuminated. Upon the violin’s emergence from a musician’s attic in 2006, the instrument was the subject of scrutiny by auction house Henry Aldridge & Son and Christian Tennyson-Ekeberg, author of Nearer, Our God, to Thee: The Biography of the Titanic Bandmaster. It was discovered that in July 1912, a grieved Robinson included a telegram receipt in her diary. It read, “I would be most grateful if you could convey my heartfelt thanks to all who have made possible the return of my late fiancé’s violin.” Somehow, in the process of identifying and repatriating the dead, the possessions of the late bandmaster were returned to England.


Titanic

Mystery of Titanic Letter In Bottle, Novel on Forgotten Chinese Passengers, Update on OceanGate

 

March 6, 1912: Titanic (right) had to be moved out of the drydock so her sister Olympic (left), which had lost a propeller, could have it replaced.
Robert John Welch (1859-1936), official photographer for Harland & Wolff
Public domain

Message In Bottle ‘Thrown From Titanic Hours Before Sinking’ Baffles Scientists (Mirror, 12 May 2021)

Mathilde, three of her siblings and their mother, Marie, were never seen again, but 105 years later a note apparently signed by Mathilde was found on a Canadian beach. “The bottle could be the first Titanic artifact found on the American coast,” said historian Maxime Gohier. Now scientists are probing the mysterious document, in a bid to prove whether it’s the real thing, or an elaborate hoax.

 OceanGate Expeditions Announces Medical Team for Inaugural Titanic Survey Expedition (Goskakit.com, 12 May 2021) (Press Release)

“In recruiting our expedition medical team, we prioritized identifying medical professionals accustomed to working in austere and unpredictable situations like those faced in expeditionary environments. This veteran team of emergency physicians brings a wealth of experience and expertise to our Mission Specialists and crewmembers,” says Stockton Rush, President, OceanGate Expeditions. “We will continue to follow strict COVID-19 protocols that we used throughout two Fall 2020 expeditions with zero resulting COVID-19 cases. In addition, the expedition vessel, Horizon Arctic, has a medical center for onboard care,” says Rush.

The Forgotten Chinese Passengers of the Titanic Inspired This New Novel (Yahoo News, 12 May 2021)

Here was an opportunity to bring attention to a story that had not yet been told. Here was a chance to show others the far-reaching effects of the Chinese Exclusion Act, an act that from 1882-1943, prohibited Chinese from coming to the United States. For that is the reason you have likely never heard about these men. Every Titanic survivor—705 in all—was allowed entry into the United States without question and given aid and medical relief. After all, all papers and money had been lost in the catastrophe. But not the Chinese. They were sent away within 24 hours of arriving in New York, simply on the basis of race.


Titanic

Ballard Discusses Titanic, Message in a Bottle, US Maritime Liability, and Saving an Old Cemetery

 

Image: Public Domain (NOAA)

How Bob Ballard Achieved ‘Impossible’ Feat Of Finding The Lost Titanic (New York Post, 8 May 2021)

But in the 1980s the United States was deep into a Cold War with the Soviet Union, and President Ronald Reagan enjoyed waging psychological warfare on the enemy. Ballard knew little would screw with the Russkies’ heads more than the American ability to find the lost passenger liner that sank in the Atlantic in 1912. Because he’d once been a Navy officer and then frequently worked with the Navy using his advanced under-water cameras, Ballard managed to get word of his Titanic idea all the way up the chain of command, where the White House heard and agreed.  “Absolutely,” the Gipper said to Navy Secretary John Lehman during his first term. “Let’s do it!”

Did This Message In A Bottle Really Come From The Titanic? Quebec Researchers Are Trying To Find Out (CBC, 8 May 2021)

A team of researchers at the Université du Québec à Rimouski are working to determine if a letter that washed up on shore in Canada was actually written by Lefebvre more than a century ago. “I am throwing this bottle into the sea, in the middle of the Atlantic. We are due to arrive in New York in a few days,” the letter reads. “If someone finds it, contact the Lefebvre family in Liévin.” The message, which is signed “Mathilde Lefebvre,” was found by a New Brunswick family in the sands near the Bay of Fundy in 2017. “So far, we have not caught a smoking gun of a forgery,” said Nicolas Beaudry, a history and archeology professor at the Université du Québec à Rimouski, who is studying the letter.

 

Judge Gavel
George Hodan
publicdomainpictures.net

The Limitation of Liability Act of 1851: Avoiding Responsibility for the Worst Maritime Disasters (Gcaptain.com, 6 May 2021)

(Note-this article was written by a law firm that specializes in maritime law.)

When a vessel owner seeks protection under the Limitation of Liability Act, they file a civil lawsuit in Federal District Court. All potential claimants (including anyone injured and surviving family members) are notified. They each receive certified letters informing them that the vessel owner is suing them.  As a part of a Petition for Limitation of Liability, the vessel owner also claims that the craft was worth a certain amount of money. If the ship sank, the value could be zero. For the Titanic, the value was estimated at less than $100,000: $300 for the 14 remaining lifeboats and $92,000 for the ship’s earnings. Under the Limitation of Liability Act, the owners of the “unsinkable” ship sought to limit claims for damages to this value. For the families of the 1,517 people who were killed and the 711 survivors, this would have equaled just about $41 each. 

 

Horton Cemetery, Epsom, Surrey, England
Source: Tony B, Find A Grave

Hidden Secrets Within ‘Lost’ Cemetery With Titanic Survivors And Mental Asylum Patients (Daily Star, 3 May 2021)

Hidden secrets within a ‘lost’ cemetery tell the stories behind thousands of graves. Among the dead include war heroes, patients from five mental asylums, and a Titanic survivor. A dancer who later became the muse of Picasso and a Victorian actor also lie in plots from past decades. However, their extraordinary tales are at risk of being lost forever as a charity fights to stop the land from being developed on, writes The Mirror. It wants to ensure their stories remain so they can take their spot in history. The land was a burial ground between 1899 and 1955 but has been stood derelict long ago.