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Whether you've gotten your knowledge about the Titanic
from the James Cameron film, or through the seemingly endless
series of documentaries, websites, and books
about the ill-fated ship, the harsh realities
of the lives and deaths of the 2,207 passengers and crew
tend to get lost in translation.
The 706 names on the Titanic survivor list
reveal the circumstances of those lucky men and women,
as well as those of the over 1,500 unfortunates who
never made it.
What were they like?
Where would you have been if you'd boarded the ship,
and would you have made it off?
Today we're exploring your chances
of surviving the Titanic.
But before we sink into that, be sure to subscribe,
turn on notifications, and let us
know what your favorite iceberg is named.
Now, to the Atlantic!
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
To be a child traveling on the Titanic in first class
would have been a real treat.
Well, at least at the start of the journey.
Passengers in the first class came from the upper echelons
of society and enjoyed all of the luxuries
the ship had to offer.
Children aged 2 to 17 traveled not only with their families,
but with their private attendants.
And even their dogs, unfortunately
for the attendants and dogs.
First class accommodations varied,
but first class passengers could hit the gym,
play squash, go to the ship's library,
drink at one of the cafes, even sweat off
a few pounds in the sauna.
Children would have spent the trip
doing the usual kids stuff, playing games, exploring,
and, of course, running up and down
the Grand first class Staircase.
Your chances of surviving, 48% of children on the Titanic
survived the voyage.
But among the first class children,
their survivability rate was closer to 100%.
There were six first class children aboard,
and all were saved, although one source indicates
that there may have been one child from first class
who didn't make it off the ship.
Who you are, children in second class,
from 10-month-old Alden Gates Caldwell,
to 13-year-old Violet Madeline Mellinger,
were from middle class families and spent their time
aboard the Titanic in moderate surroundings.
The children of teachers, clergymen,
and other working professionals didn't have as much space
to run around, but were able to eat three-course meals
in relative style.
Second class passengers were given
accommodations that resembled first class
standards on other ships.
Children in second class were representative
of some of the diversity and social challenges facing
the middle class, however.
Michel Navratil kidnapped his two children
and smuggled them onto the Titanic, for example.
Joseph Laroche, the only black man aboard, his two children
and his expectant wife boarded the Titanic
after learning he would not be able to dine with his children
if they took a different ship.
Your chances of surviving, all of the children
in second class on the Titanic, 24 in total, survive.
The youngest boy was 7-month-old Viljo Unto Johannes Hamalainen.
And the youngest girl was 10-month-old Barbara Joyce
West.
Both Viljo and Barbara's mothers survived, as well.
But Barbara's father, Edwy Arthur West,
perished on the voyage.
Who you are, children in third class, a.k.a. steerage, a.k.a.
the broom closet, on the Titanic were from the lower classes
of society.
Children's tickets were around $15 each which equates
to around $387 in 2019 money.
The berths and other spaces available to children
in the third class were much less glamorous and far smaller
than those in first and second class.
Children played below deck with their siblings
and, in many instances, there were a lot
of siblings to choose from.
There were five Anderson children,
nine from the Sage family, and six Goodwin children aboard.
Others made games out of what they had available to them,
like Frankie Goldsmith, 9, who swung from cranes
in the baggage area.
Your chance of surviving, only 27
out of the 79 children in third class
survived the sinking of the Titanic.
The youngest survivor of the Titanic disaster
was from the third class, however.
Elizabeth Gladys Millvina Dean was only two months old
at the time of the sinking.
Who you are, all of the shiny perks
of being a woman in first class aboard the Titanic
would have been a bit overwhelming,
especially given how rarely womanhood
involved perks in those days.
Women from upper class families, like Madeline Talmadge Astor,
who had recently married millionaire John Jacob Astor
IV, and model and actress Dorothy Gibson,
enjoyed 10 to 14-course meals when
they weren't spending their time in tea gardens
and the library available to them.
Most women traveling in first class had attendants with them.
Maids, cooks, nurses for the kids,
which meant a fair number of lower class women
traveled with upper class echelons.
The fashion in first class distinguished elite women
from the rest of those on the ship.
Women donned hats and gloves during the day,
and at night they wore the finest evening
gowns of the time.
Your chance of surviving, women and children
first was true for the most part on the Titanic.
One of the only difficulties experienced by first class
women was the inability to get clear information
on what was really going on.
Goal one among crew members was to keep the first class
passengers as calm and comfortable as what
is possible on a sinking ship, which naturally
meant controlling the flow of information.
After the ship struck the iceberg,
John Jacob Astor went to see what was going on.
And, after receiving an update from the crew,
assured his wife it was nothing serious.
Madeline Astor did survive the sinking of the Titanic,
as did her unborn child and 90% of the women in first class.
In fact, only four of the 144 women in first class
on the Titanic perished.
Who you are, the women in second class, many of whom
were wives and daughters of the middle class
bankers, bureaucrats, and other professionals,
enjoyed bedrooms and dining rooms
decorated with mahogany, silk drapery, and ornate upholstery
on the Titanic.
These women included Mary Corey, who
was traveling back to the United States
from India, where her husband was working for the British.
Sylvia Caldwell was returning to the United States
to visit family after having spent time in Siam,
now Thailand, with her husband.
Several women in second class were traveling
alone or with friends.
Clear Annie Cameron, and her friend Nellie Wallcroft,
found themselves on the Titanic after their passage
aboard another ship had been interrupted by a coal strike.
Others were traveling under more clandestine circumstances.
Kate Phillips and her married boss Henry Morley,
for example, were having an affair.
Phillips was traveling under an alias, and it's believed she
and Morley conceived a child while on board.
Your chances of surviving, out of the 93 women in second class
aboard the Titanic, 80 survive.
The 86% survival rate indicates that women, again, were
given first go at lifeboats.
However, in total, only 42% of the passengers in second class
survived.
Who you are, many of the women in third class
aboard the Titanic were immigrants
headed to the United States in search of a better life.
Often married and bringing along large families
to meet up with husbands already in the United States,
women in steerage spent their time in boats
occupied by two to six people.
Women like Margaret Mannion weren't married, but rather
were on their way to reunite with siblings or other family
members that already made their way to America.
Stuck in cramped quarters while the rich folks swanned about
in their libraries and gyms, third class passengers
bonded and struck up new friendships.
Sarah Roth, for example, a seamstress
traveling to meet her fiance in New York
spent her time with Emily Badman, who was on her way
to New York to reunite with her sister.
Your chances of surviving, women in steerage
weren't able to survive with the same higher percentage
rates of their first and second class counterparts.
There were 165 women in third class, but only 76 survived.
That's a 46% mortality rate, mostly due to the geography
of poverty.
Another chilling reason for the high death toll
was that many of the gates that separated the third class
part of the ship, intended to keep disease from spreading,
remained locked after the Titanic struck the iceberg.
Who you are, the wealthiest man aboard the Titanic
was John Jacob Astor IV.
But he wasn't alone in terms of prestige, lineage,
or his affinity for the finer things in life.
Wealthy and influential men like Isidore Strauss, partner
in Macy's Department Store, Benjamin Guggenheim, yes,
that Guggenheim family, and Walter Miller Clark,
who was a sugar company magnate, spent their time
aboard the Titanic like most gentlemen of the time.
Sporting their finest evening wear,
smoking cigars, and exchanging politically charged
pontifications well into the night.
A first class ticket could cost up to $2,560, roughly $66,000
in today's money.
And these fat cats could pay.
Many of the men in first class were awake
when the ship struck the iceberg at 11:40 PM on April 14th,
including Henry Blank, who was playing cards
with a few of his other fellow passengers.
Being manly men, they weren't alarmed
by the slight jar they felt. And after the ship stopped,
they returned to their rooms.
Going down with the ship was the honorable thing for a man
to do, and almost 68% of the men in first class did just that.
Of the 175 men in first class, only 57 survived.
Of the 118 that perished, many of them
reportedly did so after delivering their wives
and children to lifeboats.
Who you are, as one of the 168 male second class passengers
aboard the Titanic, you probably belong to the middle class.
Second class passengers included filmmaker William Harbeck,
who was hired by the White Star Line to film the voyage.
And the ship's musicians, who famously
played inspiring music until they were
swallowed by the icy waters.
Your chances of surviving, men in second class
aboard the Titanic had the lowest percent survival rate,
at a meager 8%.
Only 14 men in second class made it through the ordeal.
All eight of the musicians on board
died, and only the bodies of band leader Wallace Hartley,
bass violinist John Clarke, and violinist John Hume,
were recovered.
Several of the casualties from the men in second class
were clergymen who stayed with other passengers
until the very end.
Reverends Robert Bateman and John Harper, as well as
Fathers Thomas Biles, Ernest Courtney, Charles Kirkland,
William Lahtinen, Juozas Montvila, and Josef Peruschitz,
all held second class tickets.
And despite being of different faiths,
made their final stand together as the Titanic sank,
bringing comfort to the dying at the cost of their own lives.
"Continuing the prayers, he led us
to where the boats were being lowered,"
said the Evening World of Father Thomas Biles.
"Helping the women and children in,
he whispered to them words of comfort and encouragement."
Who you are, third class passenger Farid Husayn Qasim
on the Titanic was with his relative Nasif Qasim
Abi-Al-Muna, who had already become a successful merchant
in the United States.
Juho Stranden was a farmer from Finland.
Gunnar Tenglin was a Swedish native
who had traveled home to visit family from the United States.
And Camilius Wittevrongel was on his way from Belgium
to Detroit, Michigan, in hopes of a better life.
As third class passengers these men
made friends, spent time below deck with each other,
and, according Tenglin, who survived,
enjoyed accommodations better than they could
have imagined on the ship.
It was said that many passengers in third class
were so unaccustomed to indoor plumbing
that they were given automatic toilets to use, something
even first class passengers didn't have.
This was because the staff feared
they might not be accustomed to the need to flush.
Your chances of surviving, this is a bit of a numbers trick.
Only 24% of the third class passengers on the Titanic
survive, and just over 16% of the men
were part of that group.
There were 462 men in steerage, and, of those, only 75
made it out.
The staggering loss of life among third class passengers
has been attributed to their position
on the ship, specifically behind locked gates.
But accounts tend to differ as to whether or not
steerage passengers could get to the lifeboats.
One steerage passenger, Daniel Buckley,
survived and later testified that those steerage passengers
were initially prohibited from entering the first class
decks that had the same opportunities to get
into lifeboats.
Who you are, Ruth Bowker and Mabel Martin
worked in one of the restaurants on the Titanic.
Both women were single and worked in hostels
prior to their careers at sea.
Other female crew members, stewardesses
like Mabel Bennett, and bath attendant Maude Slocombe,
were women from large families.
Bennett was one of 10 children and was married with a child,
but living with her sister prior to working on the Titanic.
Your chances of surviving, of the 23 female crew
members on board the Titanic, 20 survive.
The 87% survival rate was, again,
a result of women and children first rule.
One survivor, Violet Jessop, was a stewardess aboard the ship
and helped the passengers and crew into lifeboats,
before boarding one herself.
Once she was aboard lifeboat number 16,
she cared for an infant until she
could find the child's mother.
After surviving the sinking of the Titanic in 1912,
Jessop kept working at sea and was aboard the Britannic,
in 1916, when it sank in the Aegean Sea
after hitting a mine.
Who you are, male crew members aboard the Titanic
worked as doctors, carpenters, stewards, engineers,
electricians, and window cleaners.
The Titanic ship officer, Captain Edward J. Smith,
had a long career at sea, and was
in bed at the time of the iceberg strike.
Men like fireman George Beauchamp
were working below deck, and were on duty
when the ship began to sink.
Because it was late at night, Harold Bride was in bed.
But his fellow communications officer, John Jack George
Phillips, was on duty.
Bride had only finished his training in wireless telegraphy
the previous year, but Phillips had
been working at sea since 1906.
Your chances of surviving, not great.
Only 192 of the 885 male crew members on the Titanic survive.
Of the ship's officers, Captain Smith and his first, second,
and sixth officers, Henry Wilde, William Murdoch,
and James Moody, all die.
Both ship's doctors died, as did all 25 engineers, six
electrical engineers, 10 electricians, two boilermakers,
a plumber, his clerk, and several firemen and coal
trimmers.
Both Phillips and Bride made it off the Titanic.
They stayed on board as long as they could,
transmitting until water forced them out of the wireless room.
But Phillips did not survive the night in the water.
As you see, when we determine the basis for survivability
of the Titanic, class is far less important than sex or age.
Most of the variance of first class versus third class
survival rates is entirely a gender thing.
44% of the first class passengers
were women, while only 23% of the third class passengers
were women.
Because the survival rate for women
was far greater than the survival rate for men,
we'd anticipate a higher survival
rate for first class passengers than for third class
passengers.
So what do you think?
Would you have survived the Titanic?
Let us know in the comments below.
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