Free Books

Click HERE for a link to 'The Loss of the S.S. Titanic' by Lawrence Beesely (an account read by Allyson Hester).

Click HERE for a link to read 'Sinking of the Titanic and Other Great Sea Disasters' by Logan Marshall. The book is not very accurate, so you're going to have to keep in mind that some of it is true, and some of it is false (most of this information was from newspapers). This was the first book to come out about the Titanic (it came out in 1912).

Know Your Stuff! 5

Q. Who survived the Titanic and 4 other predicaments before dying of Renal Failure?

A. R. Norris Williams

B. Joseph Bruce Ismay

C. Gus Cohen

D. Helen Bishop


Q. What school teacher wrote a famous account of his experiences on the Titanic?

A. Annie Funk

B. William T. Stead

C. Charles Lightoller

D. Lawrence Beesely


Q. What was the first recognizable thing seen that identified the last resting place of the Titanic?

A. Boiler

B. China

C. Bell

D. Railing


Q. What man that died on the Titanic was supposed to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery?

A. John Jacob Astor

B. Archibald Butt

C. Benjamin Guggenheim

D. Isador Strauss


Q. What type of car was on the Titanic?

A. Ford Model T

B. French Renault

C. Hupp-Yeats

D. Mercer

(The answer is in the post, "Titanic Automobile")


Q. Who was the only man that was colored (black) on board the Titanic?

A. Shine

B. Fredrick Douglas

C. Joseph Laroche

D. Martin King


Q. Who wrote the electrifying account of the Titanic in a book called "A Night To Remember"?

A. Archibald Gracie

B. Lawrence Beesely

C. Walter Lord

D. Stanley Lord

(Answer these questions by clicking on the links provided)

97 Anniversary

Today is the 97th Anniversary of the Titanic's last day. According to my clock now, it's around 9:00 P.M. By now, some passengers would have retired to bed while the men in 1st class would have gone to the smoking room playing cards, smoking, drinking brandy, and talking about politics. In 2nd class, men would have been doing the same or in their cabins. Lawrence Beasely was reading in his cabin. In 3rd class, there would have been some dancing, music, and men would have played cards while smoking. The women probably would have sat on the benches talking while the children were dancing and playing. There is one account that says that a mouse ran across the floor which caused the women to scream and stand on the benches while the boys tried to catch it. At 11:40 P.M., Fredrick Fleet (a survivor) spotted an iceberg directly in the Titanic's path. He rang the bell and called the bridge. 6th officer James Moody (who perished) answered the phone and relayed the report to 1st officer Murdoch (who also perished), in charge of the bridge during that time. The ship tried to swing towards port and just as it looked like Titanic would clear it, it struck putting holes in the 6 compartments when it could only take damage to 4 compartments. This meant that the weight of the water would drag the Titanic down, spilling into the next compartment. After they realized the ship was doomed, they ordered the boats swung out. All the boats except for two were lowered. The two collapsibles on top of the officer's quarters. The water swept up as the boats came crashing down on the deck. Collapsible B was overturned and A was swamped. These two boats would save around 25-30. Soon after, the 1st funnel fell on men including the richest man on the ship, John Jacob Astor. After that, the heart of the ship, the Grand Staircase flooded. This was at 2:10 A.M. The 2nd funnel disappears underwater later to fall. The stern rose up, and then the lights went out, flickered, and went out for all eternity. The stern detached between the 3rd and 4th funnel and fell back almost even. The bow still a little attached to the stern, pulled the stern under. The stern was almost perpendicular like a finger pointing to heaven. Then, the stern very slowly disappeared from sight at 2:20 A.M. leaving 1,500 people in pitched dark and in the icy 28 degree waters. 705 people were in the lifeboats listening to the horrific cries as people died and only one came back 20 minutes later to save only 4 people.

Titanic Survivor Accounts

Titanic Survivors: What They Saw

Titanic Survivors: What they Saw 2

(Above is the accounts of Joseph Boxhall, Eva Hart, Ruth Becker, and Edith Haisman)

Ruth Becker account

Marjorie Newell Account

Millvina Dean Story

Survivors on the "A Night To Remember Set"

Above in "A Night To Remember Set", the people seen are Lawrence Beasely, Edith Russell, Edmund Navatril, and Frank Goldsmith. The others, I can't identify.

Survivor's Voices

Edith Russell Account

Survivor Accounts

Charles Lightoller Account

The Author of a Legend

Walter Lord was born on October 8, 1917 in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1939, he graduated from Princeton University and tried to get into Yale, but he joined the army after Pearl Harbor. He was made a code clerk in London, and graduated from Yale with a degree in law after WWII ended. Lord wrote 13 bestselling books. They were Day of Infamy, Incredible Victory, A Time to Stand, Peary to the Pole, Good years from 1900 to the First World War, The Past that would not Die, his greatest work A Night to Remember, and The Night Lives On. From what I know, Walter Lord after writing A Time to Stand about The Alamo, he actually discovered the long lost flag from the battle in the Mexican archives. While writing about A Night to Remember and The Night Lives On about the Titanic, he tracked down 63 living survivors in order to get their stories of the sinking and afterward. In 1958, William McQuitty decided to do a movie using A Night to Remember's name and facts. It tells the story minute-by-minute through the eyes of Kenneth More playing 2nd Officer Charles Lightoller, and going through the bravery of Thomas Andrews, Captain Smith, the true story of Ismay, the Strausses, and many others. The sets were built using the original blueprints and designs, and they had survivors including Lawrence Beasely, and Edith Russell. It remains to this day as the most accurate movie today. Walter Lord acted as technical adviser along side with survivor 4th Officer Joseph Boxhall. Walter Lord became known also for is vast collection in things that survivors from the Titanic had given him, and original pictures. Among those things was a musical toy pig from Edith Russell that she played in the lifeboat in order to comfort the children. In 1997, after years of speaking and signing autographs, he helped James Cameron in his movie, Titanic. Walter Lord died on May 19, 2002 at the age of 84 after battling Parkinsons for years. He was buried in a family plot in Green Mountain Cemetery.

Lawrence Beesley

Lawrence Beesley was born on December 31, 1877. He went to school at Derby, England. He did well and Caius College, Cambridge where he later became a scholar and teacher. His favorite subject was Natural History which probably led to he later deciding to become a science teacher in his hometown of Derbyshire. In 1904, after 2 years of teaching, he became a science master in Dulwich College. He married Gertrude Cecil Macbeth and together, they had a son named Alec. When Alec was young, Gertrude unfortunately died. He later quit his job to go on a long vacation in Toronto, Canada where his brother lived. He was going to New York on the TITANIC and then, on to Canada by train. He left his son, Alec in England and boarded in Southampton on April 10, 1912 as a 2nd class passenger. He was reading a book that he borrowed on the night of April 14, 1912. Then, he felt a bump or a jar. It later surprised him that he didn't fall out of bed. He saw a brief whiteness pass by his window. He put the book down and went out to the corridor where he saw a steward. He asked what was wrong and the steward said that there's nothing wrong and told him to go back to bed. He did so and read on in his book. At around 1:00 A.M; he heard a knock on the door and answered. He was told to go up on deck. He did so and noticed a slight list towards the bow-port side. He saw the crew loading boats. He helped all the women and children he saw into the lifeboats but there was three women. They were met by Lawrence and directed them to a boat. Later, he saw them again and they had gotten out to make room for others. They were redirected to a boat and they got in. He was watching the loading of Boat No. 13. He was asked to get in by an officer, and that's how he survived. He and the 64 others were rescued and he later returned to England. Nine weeks after the disaster, he wrote and published a book called "Loss of the S.S. Titanic." It made him a famed survivor and when you read his book, you walk the decks of the sinking ship along with him. In 1958, the movie A Night To Remember was made and he appeared on the set. He was able to meet with other survivors and relate their stories. He died of natural causes on February 14, 1967 at the age of 89.

The Library

Located on C Deck, the Library was one of the most elegant rooms in 2nd class. It was an advantage to 1st and 3rd class which didn't have a library however 1st class had a reading and writing room. It had oak paneling and velvet seats with beautiful lenoleum tables. Lawrence Beasley whom was a science school teacher described the library by saying this: “The library was crowded that afternoon, owing to the cold on deck: but through the windows we could see the clear sky with the brilliant sunlight that seemed to augur a fine night and a clear to-morrow, and the prospect of landing in two days, with calm weather all the way to New York, was a matter of general satisfaction among us all. I can look back and see every detail of the library that afternoon—the beautifully furnished room, with lounges, armchairs, and small writing-or card tables scattered about, writing-bureaus around the walls of the room, and the library in glass-encased shelves flanking one side—the whole finished in mahogany relieved with white fluted wooden columns that supported the deck above. Through the windows is a covered corridor, reserved by general consent as the children’s playground, and here are playing the two Navratil children with their father—devoted to them, never absent from them.” When the TITANIC sank, the room either fell out when the ship broke apart, or it collapsed, or it just hasn't been explored yet.