Was captain edward smith responsible for the titanic sinking
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Titanic
Captain Edward John Smith
Age: 62
Height: 5'8" (173cm)
Complexion: Unknown
Hair Colour: Unknown
Eye Colour: Unknown (possibly grey)
Notes: In his Extra Master's application (1888) where the applicant is to fill in his height and other descriptive information this has frustratingly been crossed out, either by Smith or the examiner. The reason for this is unknown. The height of 5'8" is deduced upon photograph evidence and is based on several photographs in which in relationship to other officers he is slightly shorter. It is also interesting to note he failed in "Navigation".
Biographical Information:
Summary
The legendary "Millionaire's Captain" was actually born to working class parents (a pottery presser and grocer) in a landlocked area of England. Thanks to inspiration from his older half brother Joseph, who was a captain, Smith was able to change jobs from a labourer at age 15 to an ordinary sailor, quickly gaining promotion to third mate on his first voyage after 14 men desert ship.
This prompted Smit
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Edward J. Smith
(1850-1912)
Who Was Edward J. Smith?
Captain Edward J. Smith, captain of the luxury vessel Titanic, played a role in one of the most famous disasters at sea in history when it sank in 1912.
A Sailor's Life
Edward J. Smith was born on January 27, 1850, in Hanley, Staffordshire, England. The son of a potter and later a grocer, he attended a school in Etruria, which was supported by the Wedgwood pottery works. Smith stopped going to school around the age of 12. Beginning his life on the sea as a teenager, he signed on to the crew of the Senator Weber in 1867.
For years, Smith rose up the ranks and qualifications, earning certificates as a second mate in 1871, a first mate in 1873, and a master in 1875. The first vessel he commanded was the Lizzie Fennell, a 1,000-ton ship that moved goods to and from South America. Smith made the leap to passenger vessels in 1880 when he went to work for the White Star Line. By 1885, he was the first officer of the Republic. Two years later, Smith married Eleanor Pennington. The couple welcomed their only child, Hele
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Real People, Real Stories: Captain Smith
Roy Truman, is the great-grandson of Elizabeth Smith, first cousin of Captain Smith.
He recently travelled to Titanic Belfast with his family and shared the story of how his connection was discovered thanks to a presentation mug linked to his family.
Despite Elizabeth never discussing her connection with Captain Smith following RMS Titanic’s sinking, there had been suspicions within the family over the years but without any confirmation.
Captain Smith’s father Edward and uncle, George were potters in Hanley Staffordshire. His Uncle George had nine children, the eldest, Elizabeth Smith was born in 1855 and followed them both into pottery and her first husband, Mark was a descendent of two of the most famous families in the Staffordshire pottery industry, the Masons and the Spodes.
Having settled in Grimsby, by 1889 Elizabeth had five children and following Mark’s death in 1891, Elizabeth went on to marry fisherman George Johnson. They had two children George in 1893 and Lillian ‘Gertrude’, Roy’s grandmother, in 1895.
Coming from a long
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