The True Story of the Titanic’s Most Fascinating Survivor
An Incredible Tale of Good Fortune and Too Much Alcohol
Move over Leonardo DiCaprio.
There are much more interesting stories to be told about that fateful night in 1912 than James Cameron’s fictional love story between an entitled first-class girl named Rose DeWitt Bukater and a happy-go-lucky street urchin called Jack Dawson.
I’ll admit it. I am a Titanic history buff, and, for me, the true stories of Titanic’s survivors are a constant source of fascination. I have spent hours upon hours pouring through their accounts of one of the worst maritime disasters in history, and there is one survivor whose story is particularly captivating — so much so that his tale makes the briefest appearance in the 1997 Hollywood blockbuster in a moment where fact and fiction intersected.
I discovered his story while perusing Encyclopedia Titanica — an incredible website containing information about every single person who sailed on the Titanic’s fateful voyage. I’ve drawn from this resource to retell his amazing tale of survival here.
I think he deserves his own movie. He is the Titanic’s most interesting survivor.
