William McMaster Murdoch
|
Lieutenant William McMaster Murdoch R.N.R. |
|
|---|---|
Picture taken before 1912, and published in accounts of the sinking of the Titanic at the end of 1913
|
|
| Born |
28 February 1873 Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland |
| Died | 15 April 1912 (aged 39) RMS Titanic, Atlantic Ocean |
| Cause of death | Unconfirmed; body never recovered; possibly suicide |
| Education | Dalbeattie High School |
| Occupation | Ship's First Officer |
| Spouse(s) | Ada Florence Murdoch (née Banks) (m. 1907–12) |
| Parent(s) | Samuel Murdoch Jane Muirhead |
| Notes | |
William McMaster "Will" Murdoch (28 February 1873 – 15 April 1912) was a Scottish sailor who was notable as the first officer of the Titanic. Mystery also surrounds his death.
Born from a family of sailors, William Murdoch was an officer of the Royal Naval Reserve; he was employed by the White Star Line in 1900 and quickly rose to the rank of officer. In 1903, his leadership became recognized when he avoided a collision with the Arabic. In April 1912, Murdoch served as First Officer aboard the RMS Titanic. He is notable as the officer in charge on the bridge the night when the Titanic collided with an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean. He was one of the 1,500 people who died in the disaster.
Murdoch became an iconic Scottish hero, a status that is maintained and reflected by the memorial in his hometown of Kirkcudbrightshire. However, debate revolves around the adequacy of instructions given to avoid the iceberg.
In two films about the Titanic, Murdoch was portrayed shooting passengers and himself during the sinking; this was based on a number of eyewitness testimonies of a shooting/suicide by an officer during the launching of the last lifeboat. It is possible that Murdoch was the officer. (see Cause of death.) At present there has been no evidence as yet to prove that William Murdoch was not the officer seen committing suicide.
Murdoch has become a figure of controversy, with mystery surrounding the circumstances of his death and actions during the collision with the iceberg.
Murdoch was born in Dalbeattie in Kirkcudbrightshire (now Dumfries and Galloway), Scotland, the fourth son of Captain Samuel Murdoch, a master mariner, and Jane Muirhead, six of whose children survived infancy. They were a long and notable line of Scottish seafarers who sailed the world's oceans as early as the 19th century; his father and grandfather were both sea captains as were four of his grandfather's brothers.
...
Wikipedia