Читать книгу Black Man on the Titanic - Serge Bile - Страница 16

A postage stamp printed in Ireland circa 2012 shows an image

of the RSM Titanic.

Captain Edward John Smith

Edward John Smith (1850–1912) was the captain of the Titanic and perished when the ship sank. Smith left school early to join the British Merchant Navy and the Royal Naval Reserve. After earning his master’s ticket, he entered the service of the White Star Line. His first command was the SS Celtic. He eventually served as commanding officer of numerous White Star Line vessels, including the Majestic, which he commanded for nine years. In 1904, Smith became the commodore of the White Star Line, and was responsible for controlling its flagships. He successfully commanded the Baltic, Adriatic, and the Olympic. Smith was posthumously lauded as an example of British stoicism for his conduct aboard the Titanic, and his refusal to evacuate as it sank.

“I cannot imagine any condition which would cause a ship to founder. I cannot conceive of any vital disaster happening to this vessel. Modern ship building has gone beyond that.”

—Captain Smith, Commander of Titanic

“We do not care anything for the heaviest storms in these big ships. It is fog that we fear. The big icebergs that drift into warmer water melt much more rapidly under water than on the surface, and sometimes a sharp, low reef extending two or three hundred feet beneath the sea is formed. If a vessel should run on one of these reefs, half her bottom might be torn away.”

—Captain Smith, Commander of Titanic