Maritime History

Edward Smith (sea captain)

Commander Edward John Smith (27 January 1850 – 15 April 1912) was a British merchant sea captain and naval officer, best known as the captain of the ill-fated ocean liner RMS Titanic. Born in Hanley, Staffordshire, Smith joined the British Merchant Navy at age 17 as an apprentice, beginning a long and distinguished mercantile career. In 1880, he joined the White Star Line as an officer and rose quickly to become a captain in the fleet. He concurrently served in the Royal Naval Reserve, reaching the rank of "Commander" and receiving the Reserve Decoration when he was released in 1905. During the Second Boer War, Smith commanded troop transport ships carrying British Imperial troops to the Cape Colony and was awarded the Transport Medal for his services. A popular figure in the mercantile service, Smith was known as the "Millionaire's Captain" for his social skills and hospitality. He was regarded as the White Star Line's unofficial Commodore, serving as captain on the maiden voyages of several of the company's luxury liners. In 1912, Smith became captain of Titanic and died along with 1,495 others when the ship sank on her maiden voyage after colliding with an iceberg.

Also on this shelf

See also

• ▸Armenian Church, Chennai
• ▸Gustav Mahler
• ▸Dublin Bay

Uncatalogued shelf

Text from Wikipedia; plate via Wikimedia Commons. Text CC BY-SA 4.0; plate freely licensed (see Commons). Source record. Images and catalogue data are reproduced from open-access collections.