Violet Jessop: The Woman Who Survived 3 Historic Shipwrecks
Miss Unsinkable evaded death and danger her entire life
Ever since humans mastered the art of sailing, shipwrecks have held a tragic but compelling place in history. Years after these ships crash or settle in their watery final resting place, the names and stories of the vessels linger in the lexicon like ghosts. Some passengers survived and many others sadly perished, but Violet Jessop had the distinction being a passenger on three of the most famous wrecks in history and living to tell each of the stories.
Jessop was born in 1887 in Argentina. She was the oldest of nine children to parents who had emigrated from Ireland. She survived a bout of tuberculosis as a child that was so severe that her prognosis was initially deemed to be fatal.
Upon reaching adulthood, she followed in the path of her mother by applying to be a ship stewardess, accepting her first position in 1908 when she was just 21. It was hard but rewarding work that took her back and forth across the ocean and provided a stable career at a time when women were largely relegated to domestic duties.
In 1911, Jessop was employed as a stewardess aboard the RMS Olympic, which was a luxury ship that at the time held the distinction as the largest in the world. Owned by…
