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Titanic survivors


The passengers of the RMS Titanic were among the estimated 2,344 people who sailed on the maiden voyage of the second of the White Star Line's Olympic class ocean liners, from Southampton, England to New York City, New York, US. Partway through the voyage, the ship struck an iceberg and sank in the early morning of 15 April 1912, resulting in the deaths of over 1,500 people, including approximately 815 of the passengers.

The Titanic's passengers were divided into three separate classes, determined not only by the price of their ticket but by wealth and social class: those travelling in first class, most of them the wealthiest passengers on board, included prominent members of the upper class, businessmen, politicians, high-ranking military personnel, industrialists, bankers, entertainers, socialites, and professional athletes. Second class passengers were middle class travellers and included professors, authors, clergymen, and tourists. Third class or steerage passengers were primarily emigrants moving to the United States and Canada.

The Titanic's first-class list was a "who's who" of the rich and prominent of the upper class in 1912. A single-person berth in first class cost between £30 (equivalent to £2,700 in 2015), to £870 (equivalent to £78,000 in 2015) for a parlour suite and small private promenade deck. First class passengers enjoyed a number of amenities including a gymnasium, a squash court, a salt water swimming pool, electric and Turkish baths, a barbershop, kennels for first class dogs, elevators, and both open and enclosed promenades. First class passengers also traveled accompanied by personal staff—valets, maids, nurses and governesses for the children, chauffeurs and cooks.

Members of the British aristocracy made the trip: The Countess of Rothes, wife of the 19th Earl of Rothes, embarked at Southampton with her parents, Thomas and Clementina Dyer-Edwardes, and cousin Gladys Cherry. Sir Cosmo Duff-Gordon, 5th Baronet of Halkin, and his wife, Lucy, Lady Duff-Gordon were on board as well. Sir Cosmo was a wealthy Scottish landowner and Olympic fencing medalist, while Lady Duff-Gordon, known professionally as Lucile, was a leading fashion designer who served a wealthy and exclusive clientele including the British Royal Family. Colonel Archibald Gracie IV, a real estate investor, member of the wealthy Scottish-American Gracie family, embarked at Southampton. The Cavendishes of London were among other prominent British couples on board as well. Lord Pirrie, chairman of Harland and Wolff intended to travel aboard the Titanic, but illness prevented him from joining the ill-fated voyage; however White Star Line's Managing Director J. Bruce Ismay and the ship's Harland and Wolff designer, Thomas Andrews, were both on board to oversee the ship's progress on her maiden voyage.


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