Titanic remains the world’s greatest tragedies, partly owing to its romanticized film Titanic. Everyone wants to know, and everyone speculates what happened on the Titanic. How did people react? Who was onboard? Who died? How did they die? Here are some of the most Famous People who died on the Titanic.
1. Isidore and Ida Strauss
Their story is a story of romantic tragedy, but the real tragedy lies in the fact that it took place.
They met after the civil war ended at a time when Isidore Straus was penniless. He moved to New York City and later acquired Macy’s with his brother. He went on to become a member of the House of Representatives as well as a successful businessman.
According to some reports, Straus was given a spot on a lifeboat while the ship was going to sink. But, he wouldn’t board any lifeboat until every woman and child was moved to safety.
Ida then decided to stay together with her husband, and on being urged by her husband to evacuate the ship, she reportedly said, “We have lived together for many years. Where you go, I go.” Isidore and Ida Strauss were among the famous people who died on the Titanic, but they stayed together till the very last honoring their commitment of “Till Death do us part.
2. Benjamin Guggenheim
Among the famous people to have died on the Titanic is Benjamin Guggenheim. He was from the Guggenheim family, which had amassed great wealth from the mining industry. He was accompanied by his lover Léontine Aubart and his staffers. He has reportedly been heard saying to his maid, “We will soon see each other again. It’s just a repair. Tomorrow the Titanic will go on again”.
3. Thomas Andrews
Can you imagine being destroyed by the very thing you created?
Nothing seems more tragically poetic than dying in the thing you built. Unfortunately, Thomas Andrews, the Irish architect who was the principal designer for the Titanic, had to be among the famous people who died on the Titanic. Having had success in his career as a naval architect, Thomas died on his ship’s last voyage.
4. John Jacob Astor
With a net worth of US$87,000,000, John Jacob Astor died as the richest man on the Titanic. The 48-year-old millionaire helped in building the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York City. Astor wore many hats, from an inventor to a science fiction novelist to serving in the Spanish-American War, he had done it all. Unfortunately, he was among the famous people who died on the Titanic.
Astor with wife Madeleine had been touring Europe when his wife became pregnant, and she was 18 at that time. Astor wanted his child to be born in the States, so he booked a place on the ill-fated ship.
Unfortunately, his millions couldn’t save him as he was last seen clinging to the side of a raft and ended up being covered in soot from head to toe when the forward funnel fell. Though it crushed him, he went down as a hero when he calmly resigned to his fate as his request for a place on the boat was turned down. He saw to it that his wife and child had reached safety.
Mrs. Astor inherited a $5 million trust fund as well as the use of her husband’s residence after he died. The condition underlying was that she could never remarry, but she gave up her inheritance to marry and divorce — twice more afterward.
5. George Dennick Wick
George, an industrialist and the founding president of Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company, the steel-manufacturing business had been among the famous people who died on the Titanic. To improve his health, George had gone to Europe but made the mistake of booking a trip on the Titanic to reach the States. He was waving to his family on the lifeboat in the end, according to Encyclopedia Titania.
6. Jacques Futrelle
Jacques Futrelle was a mystery writer best known for his story, the Problem of Cell 13. According to Encyclopedia Titania, he married Lily May Peel in 1895. Starting as a journalist for the New York Herald and the Boston Post, Jacques later created a fictional detective Professor Augustus S.F.X. Van Dusen for his series. He was among the famous people who died on the Titanic.
7. Archibald Butt
Archibald Butt had taken the doomed trip, and he was among the famous people who died on the Titanic. According to Encyclopedia Titania, he was a presidential aide and was an influential man. His career had many highlights, and he had the satisfaction of having a varied career before he boarded the ill-fated trip. The President of the United States of America William Taft broke down weeping when he was delivering the eulogy at the funeral of Archibald Butt.
8. W. T Stead
Stead had written a story in 1886, “How the Mail Steamer went down in Mid Atlantic.” Little did he know his story would prove to be so fatally true. Stead was then the editor of the Pall Mall Gazette and had published a controversial investigative series about child prostitution.
Stead had also started a psychic service called Julia’s Bureau. He was a mighty and influential editor and thus among the famous people who died on the Titanic.
According to Business Insider, Stead is also credited with starting a magazine dedicated to the supernatural. It is said that Stead, in his last moments, was reading in his cabin.
9.Henry B. Harris
Among the influential and famous people who died on the Titanic, was a Broadway Producer called Henry B. Harris. He had tasted success as a producer and was producing many plays. After completing his business trip to London, he was returning to the United States of America on the Titanic, where he lost his life with many others.
These were among the famous people who died on the Titanic. Millionaires, Architects, Industrialists, Producers, Politicians, tragedy, and death cared for none. You cannot buy life, and neither can you intimidate it into submission. Human life is unpredictable. Don’t tempt fate.
