Anticipating the Titanic Disaster (The Nation, 1912)A couple of years prior to the sinking of TITANIC the president of the International Seaman's Union of America presented a petition before the U.S. Congress declaring that the issue of safety at sea is widely ignored on all levels. In his address he remarked:
"There is not sailing today on any ocean any passenger vessel carrying the number of boats needed to take care of the passengers and crew..."
Admiral Peary on Icebergs and the TITANIC Catastrophe (Review of Reviews, 1912)The arctic explorer Admiral Robert Peary (1856 – 1920) was no stranger to icebergs. In this short essay he reminisces about spotting icebergs, the most dangerous types of icebergs, the times when an iceberg can prove helpful to a skipper and the remedies for the future.
*Watch this Computer-Animated Clip Depicting How Titanic Went Down*
Isador Straus (N.Y. Times, 1912)The attached obituary of Isador Straus (born 1845) as it appeared in THE NEW YORK TIMES the day after the news of his death was made known. At the time he had secured passage on board TITANIC, Straus was co-owner of the Macy's department store with his brother Nathan. A trusted advisor to U.S. President Grover Cleveland, he was elected to represent the New Yorkers of the fifty-third district and served in that post between 1894 and 1895. He died in the company of his wife Ida; unlike Straus, her body was never recovered.
Iceberg Warnings as Early as January (Popular Mechanics, 1912)The attached two paragraphs appeared in POPULAR MECHANICS MAGAZINE some six weeks prior to the maiden voyage of TITANIC:
"As many as 4,500 different bergs have been actually counted in a run of 2,000 miles; estimated heights of from 800 to 1,700 feet are not uncommon, and bergs with lengths of from 6 to 82 miles are numerous."
The notice indicated that if the Indian Ocean is suffering such a large number then certainly it can be surmised that the North Atlantic will be plagued doubly. It stands to reason that if the editors of this magazine were aware of the heavy presence of South-bound icebergs, then the naval community must also have been in the know.
Cowardly Behavior on TITANIC (N.Y. Times, 1912)This is a small notice from THE NEW YORK TIMES reporting on the surprisingly impulsive behavior of the men of high civic standing on-board TITANIC who were among the first to scramble for the lifeboats:
"It was our Congressmen, our Senators, and our 'big men' who led in the crush for the lifeboats."
It was also pointed out that many of the TITANIC heroes that night were also men of prominence within their communities, fellows such as Isador Straus and John Jacob Astor who refused to accept lifeboat seating.
How John Jacob Astor Died (N.Y. Times, 1912)Two eyewitness accounts relaying the last moments in the life of millionaire investor John Jacob Astor IV (born and his gallantry in refusing a place in the lifeboats. According to Mrs. Churchill Candee (born Helen Churchill Hungerford, 1859 - 1949)and Second Class passenger Hilda Slater (1882 - 1965) he lived up to the expected standards of the day:
"I saw Colonel John Jacob Astor hand his young wife into a boat tenderly and then ask an officer whether or not he might also go. When permission was refused he stepped back and coolly took out his cigarette case."
"'Good bye, dearie' he called gaily, as he lighted his cigarette and leaned over the rail, 'I'll join you later.'"
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