Birth of Captain Edward Smith
Edward Smith is most famously known as Captain EJ Smith, the man in charge of The Titanic on her fateful maiden voyage in 1912.
Rumours about the Captains actions and last few hours on that night, have led to many blaming him for the sinking of the ship.
Edward was born on the 27th January 1850, the son of a Potter, in Staffordshire, England.
Around the age of twelve, he started his life~long career as a sailor.
In 1880, he made the jump from commercial shipping to passenger ships, when he was hired as a junior officer with The White Star Line.
Over the course of his career, Smith earned a reputation for being popular with both crew and passengers.
He earned himself the nickname ‘The Millionaires Captain’ because he was so well liked by the wealthy travellers.
The maiden voyage of The Titanic, was to be Smiths last sailing.
He was going into retirement.
After the sinking, rumours swirled about the ship, the passengers, and the events leading up to the tragedy.
Tales of how Smith was under pressure from The White Star Line to keep up the ships speed, and ignored iceberg warnings, all added to the rumours.
Some of the myths about Smith come from the survivors, themselves.
Several eyewitnesses testified that they saw Captain Smith rescue a drowning infant, before swimming back to the ship.
There is also dispute about Smith’s final words.
Several crew members recall Smith asking them to act honourably, do what they could for the women and children, look after themselves, and “Be British”
He then returned to the bridge, to go down with his ship.
It is this final act of leadership, thats has become the most enduring image of Captain Smith.
While we cannot know for sure how he spent his final moments, it is known that Captain Edward Smith perished in the North Atlantic along with 1517 others, on April 15th 1912.
His body was never recovered.
Captain Edward Smith~Wikimedia
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