Who Was The Captain Of The Titanic
The Titanic is the most infamous cruise ship of all time. The Titanic left port in England on a transatlantic voyage to New York City, United States. Along the way the ship struck an iceberg and sank killing a total of 1,522 people, leaving just 705 survivors. If you ever wondered who captained this ill-fated voyage, read this article to find out.
Who was the captain of the Titanic?
The captain of the Titanic was a ship’s captain and navel reserves officer by the name of Edward John Smith. At the time of the voyage Edward Smith was 62 years of age and well respected by many of the people in the industry.
Edward Smith started working for White Star Line in March of 1880. His first position was the Fourth Officer of the SS Celtic. On board this ship he covered the company’s routes from England to Australia and New York a number of times. In 1887 Captain Smith received his own command on the White Star ship the Republic. In 1888 Edward Smith completed his Extra Masters Certificate and joined the Royal Navy Reserves. Smith also captained the Majestic from 1895 until 1904. In that time he served in the Boer War transporting troops and earned the reputation of being a “safe captain.” He was often requested to captain ships that the wealthy of the world would voyage upon. From 1904 onwards Captain Edward Smith was given the job of captaining the maiden voyages of all the new White Star Line ships. This included the Baltic, Adriatic and the Olympic.
Due to his outstanding reputation and long service career Captain Edward Smith was given the command of the biggest and most luxurious ocean liner yet, the RMS Titanic. It was never anticipated that the maiden voyage would go so horribly wrong. However, on the 14th of April the ship struck an iceberg and sunk to the bottom of the ocean.
It is not known how Captain Edward Smith died, but he is counted amongst those who were lost in this tragic accident. Some reports say that he was in the wheelhouse when the ship went down and others say he was active in the radio room. One story also suggests that he swam a child to a lifeboat before succumbing to the freezing water of the Atlantic Ocean. In any case the captain did not survive the terrible tragedy that befell his ship and after an amazing career was lost at sea.
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