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  • Whether you've gotten your knowledge about the Titanic

  • from the James Cameron film, or through the seemingly endless

  • series of documentaries, websites, and books

  • about the ill-fated ship, the harsh realities

  • of the lives and deaths of the 2,207 passengers and crew

  • tend to get lost in translation.

  • The 706 names on the Titanic survivor list

  • reveal the circumstances of those lucky men and women,

  • as well as those of the over 1,500 unfortunates who

  • never made it.

  • What were they like?

  • Where would you have been if you'd boarded the ship,

  • and would you have made it off?

  • Today we're exploring your chances

  • of surviving the Titanic.

  • But before we sink into that, be sure to subscribe,

  • turn on notifications, and let us

  • know what your favorite iceberg is named.

  • Now, to the Atlantic!

  • [DRAMATIC MUSIC]

  • To be a child traveling on the Titanic in first class

  • would have been a real treat.

  • Well, at least at the start of the journey.

  • Passengers in the first class came from the upper echelons

  • of society and enjoyed all of the luxuries

  • the ship had to offer.

  • Children aged 2 to 17 traveled not only with their families,

  • but with their private attendants.

  • And even their dogs, unfortunately

  • for the attendants and dogs.

  • First class accommodations varied,

  • but first class passengers could hit the gym,

  • play squash, go to the ship's library,

  • drink at one of the cafes, even sweat off

  • a few pounds in the sauna.

  • Children would have spent the trip

  • doing the usual kids stuff, playing games, exploring,

  • and, of course, running up and down

  • the Grand first class Staircase.

  • Your chances of surviving, 48% of children on the Titanic

  • survived the voyage.

  • But among the first class children,

  • their survivability rate was closer to 100%.

  • There were six first class children aboard,

  • and all were saved, although one source indicates

  • that there may have been one child from first class

  • who didn't make it off the ship.

  • Who you are, children in second class,

  • from 10-month-old Alden Gates Caldwell,

  • to 13-year-old Violet Madeline Mellinger,

  • were from middle class families and spent their time

  • aboard the Titanic in moderate surroundings.

  • The children of teachers, clergymen,

  • and other working professionals didn't have as much space

  • to run around, but were able to eat three-course meals

  • in relative style.

  • Second class passengers were given

  • accommodations that resembled first class

  • standards on other ships.

  • Children in second class were representative

  • of some of the diversity and social challenges facing

  • the middle class, however.

  • Michel Navratil kidnapped his two children

  • and smuggled them onto the Titanic, for example.

  • Joseph Laroche, the only black man aboard, his two children

  • and his expectant wife boarded the Titanic

  • after learning he would not be able to dine with his children

  • if they took a different ship.

  • Your chances of surviving, all of the children

  • in second class on the Titanic, 24 in total, survive.

  • The youngest boy was 7-month-old Viljo Unto Johannes Hamalainen.

  • And the youngest girl was 10-month-old Barbara Joyce

  • West.

  • Both Viljo and Barbara's mothers survived, as well.

  • But Barbara's father, Edwy Arthur West,

  • perished on the voyage.

  • Who you are, children in third class, a.k.a. steerage, a.k.a.

  • the broom closet, on the Titanic were from the lower classes

  • of society.

  • Children's tickets were around $15 each which equates

  • to around $387 in 2019 money.

  • The berths and other spaces available to children

  • in the third class were much less glamorous and far smaller

  • than those in first and second class.

  • Children played below deck with their siblings

  • and, in many instances, there were a lot

  • of siblings to choose from.

  • There were five Anderson children,

  • nine from the Sage family, and six Goodwin children aboard.

  • Others made games out of what they had available to them,

  • like Frankie Goldsmith, 9, who swung from cranes

  • in the baggage area.

  • Your chance of surviving, only 27

  • out of the 79 children in third class

  • survived the sinking of the Titanic.

  • The youngest survivor of the Titanic disaster

  • was from the third class, however.

  • Elizabeth Gladys Millvina Dean was only two months old

  • at the time of the sinking.

  • Who you are, all of the shiny perks

  • of being a woman in first class aboard the Titanic

  • would have been a bit overwhelming,

  • especially given how rarely womanhood

  • involved perks in those days.

  • Women from upper class families, like Madeline Talmadge Astor,

  • who had recently married millionaire John Jacob Astor

  • IV, and model and actress Dorothy Gibson,

  • enjoyed 10 to 14-course meals when

  • they weren't spending their time in tea gardens

  • and the library available to them.

  • Most women traveling in first class had attendants with them.

  • Maids, cooks, nurses for the kids,

  • which meant a fair number of lower class women

  • traveled with upper class echelons.

  • The fashion in first class distinguished elite women

  • from the rest of those on the ship.

  • Women donned hats and gloves during the day,

  • and at night they wore the finest evening

  • gowns of the time.

  • Your chance of surviving, women and children

  • first was true for the most part on the Titanic.

  • One of the only difficulties experienced by first class

  • women was the inability to get clear information

  • on what was really going on.

  • Goal one among crew members was to keep the first class

  • passengers as calm and comfortable as what

  • is possible on a sinking ship, which naturally

  • meant controlling the flow of information.

  • After the ship struck the iceberg,

  • John Jacob Astor went to see what was going on.

  • And, after receiving an update from the crew,

  • assured his wife it was nothing serious.

  • Madeline Astor did survive the sinking of the Titanic,

  • as did her unborn child and 90% of the women in first class.

  • In fact, only four of the 144 women in first class

  • on the Titanic perished.

  • Who you are, the women in second class, many of whom

  • were wives and daughters of the middle class

  • bankers, bureaucrats, and other professionals,

  • enjoyed bedrooms and dining rooms

  • decorated with mahogany, silk drapery, and ornate upholstery

  • on the Titanic.

  • These women included Mary Corey, who

  • was traveling back to the United States

  • from India, where her husband was working for the British.

  • Sylvia Caldwell was returning to the United States

  • to visit family after having spent time in Siam,

  • now Thailand, with her husband.

  • Several women in second class were traveling

  • alone or with friends.

  • Clear Annie Cameron, and her friend Nellie Wallcroft,

  • found themselves on the Titanic after their passage

  • aboard another ship had been interrupted by a coal strike.

  • Others were traveling under more clandestine circumstances.

  • Kate Phillips and her married boss Henry Morley,

  • for example, were having an affair.

  • Phillips was traveling under an alias, and it's believed she

  • and Morley conceived a child while on board.

  • Your chances of surviving, out of the 93 women in second class

  • aboard the Titanic, 80 survive.

  • The 86% survival rate indicates that women, again, were

  • given first go at lifeboats.

  • However, in total, only 42% of the passengers in second class

  • survived.

  • Who you are, many of the women in third class

  • aboard the Titanic were immigrants

  • headed to the United States in search of a better life.

  • Often married and bringing along large families

  • to meet up with husbands already in the United States,

  • women in steerage spent their time in boats

  • occupied by two to six people.

  • Women like Margaret Mannion weren't married, but rather

  • were on their way to reunite with siblings or other family

  • members that already made their way to America.

  • Stuck in cramped quarters while the rich folks swanned about

  • in their libraries and gyms, third class passengers

  • bonded and struck up new friendships.

  • Sarah Roth, for example, a seamstress

  • traveling to meet her fiance in New York

  • spent her time with Emily Badman, who was on her way

  • to New York to reunite with her sister.

  • Your chances of surviving, women in steerage

  • weren't able to survive with the same higher percentage

  • rates of their first and second class counterparts.

  • There were 165 women in third class, but only 76 survived.

  • That's a 46% mortality rate, mostly due to the geography

  • of poverty.

  • Another chilling reason for the high death toll

  • was that many of the gates that separated the third class

  • part of the ship, intended to keep disease from spreading,

  • remained locked after the Titanic struck the iceberg.

  • Who you are, the wealthiest man aboard the Titanic

  • was John Jacob Astor IV.

  • But he wasn't alone in terms of prestige, lineage,

  • or his affinity for the finer things in life.

  • Wealthy and influential men like Isidore Strauss, partner

  • in Macy's Department Store, Benjamin Guggenheim, yes,

  • that Guggenheim family, and Walter Miller Clark,

  • who was a sugar company magnate, spent their time

  • aboard the Titanic like most gentlemen of the time.

  • Sporting their finest evening wear,

  • smoking cigars, and exchanging politically charged

  • pontifications well into the night.

  • A first class ticket could cost up to $2,560, roughly $66,000

  • in today's money.

  • And these fat cats could pay.

  • Many of the men in first class were awake

  • when the ship struck the iceberg at 11:40 PM on April 14th,

  • including Henry Blank, who was playing cards

  • with a few of his other fellow passengers.

  • Being manly men, they weren't alarmed

  • by the slight jar they felt. And after the ship stopped,

  • they returned to their rooms.

  • Going down with the ship was the honorable thing for a man

  • to do, and almost 68% of the men in first class did just that.

  • Of the 175 men in first class, only 57 survived.

  • Of the 118 that perished, many of them

  • reportedly did so after delivering their wives

  • and children to lifeboats.

  • Who you are, as one of the 168 male second class passengers

  • aboard the Titanic, you probably belong to the middle class.

  • Second class passengers included filmmaker William Harbeck,

  • who was hired by the White Star Line to film the voyage.

  • And the ship's musicians, who famously

  • played inspiring music until they were

  • swallowed by the icy waters.

  • Your chances of surviving, men in second class

  • aboard the Titanic had the lowest percent survival rate,

  • at a meager 8%.

  • Only 14 men in second class made it through the ordeal.

  • All eight of the musicians on board

  • died, and only the bodies of band leader Wallace Hartley,

  • bass violinist John Clarke, and violinist John Hume,

  • were recovered.

  • Several of the casualties from the men in second class

  • were clergymen who stayed with other passengers

  • until the very end.

  • Reverends Robert Bateman and John Harper, as well as

  • Fathers Thomas Biles, Ernest Courtney, Charles Kirkland,

  • William Lahtinen, Juozas Montvila, and Josef Peruschitz,

  • all held second class tickets.

  • And despite being of different faiths,

  • made their final stand together as the Titanic sank,

  • bringing comfort to the dying at the cost of their own lives.

  • "Continuing the prayers, he led us

  • to where the boats were being lowered,"

  • said the Evening World of Father Thomas Biles.

  • "Helping the women and children in,

  • he whispered to them words of comfort and encouragement."

  • Who you are, third class passenger Farid Husayn Qasim

  • on the Titanic was with his relative Nasif Qasim

  • Abi-Al-Muna, who had already become a successful merchant

  • in the United States.

  • Juho Stranden was a farmer from Finland.

  • Gunnar Tenglin was a Swedish native

  • who had traveled home to visit family from the United States.

  • And Camilius Wittevrongel was on his way from Belgium

  • to Detroit, Michigan, in hopes of a better life.

  • As third class passengers these men

  • made friends, spent time below deck with each other,

  • and, according Tenglin, who survived,

  • enjoyed accommodations better than they could

  • have imagined on the ship.

  • It was said that many passengers in third class

  • were so unaccustomed to indoor plumbing

  • that they were given automatic toilets to use, something

  • even first class passengers didn't have.

  • This was because the staff feared

  • they might not be accustomed to the need to flush.

  • Your chances of surviving, this is a bit of a numbers trick.

  • Only 24% of the third class passengers on the Titanic

  • survive, and just over 16% of the men

  • were part of that group.

  • There were 462 men in steerage, and, of those, only 75

  • made it out.

  • The staggering loss of life among third class passengers

  • has been attributed to their position

  • on the ship, specifically behind locked gates.

  • But accounts tend to differ as to whether or not

  • steerage passengers could get to the lifeboats.

  • One steerage passenger, Daniel Buckley,

  • survived and later testified that those steerage passengers

  • were initially prohibited from entering the first class

  • decks that had the same opportunities to get

  • into lifeboats.

  • Who you are, Ruth Bowker and Mabel Martin

  • worked in one of the restaurants on the Titanic.

  • Both women were single and worked in hostels

  • prior to their careers at sea.

  • Other female crew members, stewardesses

  • like Mabel Bennett, and bath attendant Maude Slocombe,

  • were women from large families.

  • Bennett was one of 10 children and was married with a child,

  • but living with her sister prior to working on the Titanic.

  • Your chances of surviving, of the 23 female crew

  • members on board the Titanic, 20 survive.

  • The 87% survival rate was, again,

  • a result of women and children first rule.

  • One survivor, Violet Jessop, was a stewardess aboard the ship

  • and helped the passengers and crew into lifeboats,

  • before boarding one herself.

  • Once she was aboard lifeboat number 16,

  • she cared for an infant until she

  • could find the child's mother.

  • After surviving the sinking of the Titanic in 1912,

  • Jessop kept working at sea and was aboard the Britannic,

  • in 1916, when it sank in the Aegean Sea

  • after hitting a mine.

  • Who you are, male crew members aboard the Titanic

  • worked as doctors, carpenters, stewards, engineers,

  • electricians, and window cleaners.

  • The Titanic ship officer, Captain Edward J. Smith,

  • had a long career at sea, and was

  • in bed at the time of the iceberg strike.

  • Men like fireman George Beauchamp

  • were working below deck, and were on duty

  • when the ship began to sink.

  • Because it was late at night, Harold Bride was in bed.

  • But his fellow communications officer, John Jack George

  • Phillips, was on duty.

  • Bride had only finished his training in wireless telegraphy

  • the previous year, but Phillips had

  • been working at sea since 1906.

  • Your chances of surviving, not great.

  • Only 192 of the 885 male crew members on the Titanic survive.

  • Of the ship's officers, Captain Smith and his first, second,

  • and sixth officers, Henry Wilde, William Murdoch,

  • and James Moody, all die.

  • Both ship's doctors died, as did all 25 engineers, six

  • electrical engineers, 10 electricians, two boilermakers,

  • a plumber, his clerk, and several firemen and coal

  • trimmers.

  • Both Phillips and Bride made it off the Titanic.

  • They stayed on board as long as they could,

  • transmitting until water forced them out of the wireless room.

  • But Phillips did not survive the night in the water.

  • As you see, when we determine the basis for survivability

  • of the Titanic, class is far less important than sex or age.

  • Most of the variance of first class versus third class

  • survival rates is entirely a gender thing.

  • 44% of the first class passengers

  • were women, while only 23% of the third class passengers

  • were women.

  • Because the survival rate for women

  • was far greater than the survival rate for men,

  • we'd anticipate a higher survival

  • rate for first class passengers than for third class

  • passengers.

  • So what do you think?

  • Would you have survived the Titanic?

  • Let us know in the comments below.

  • And while you're at it, subscribe

  • to more of our Weird History.

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