24 Titanic facts that will make you fall down a rabbit hole

We all know Titanic It was a work of fiction, but imagination can be a messy thing when you’re drawing on real people for your characters. Not surprisingly, J. Bruce Ismay’s daughter, son, and grandson have publicly objected to his portrayal in the film and are eager to set things right.

So what is the truth about Ismay’s behavior on that fateful night? First, he had no authority over the ship’s crew because he was not on board in any official capacity; he was there “ordinary passenger. According to eyewitnesses and an official investigation, Ismail spent “at least an hour” helping load passengers into the lifeboats, many of whom later testified that he actually helped them. Then, after making sure there were no more women or children, he made the sudden decision to get into the lifeboat By himself no Stand in front of another passenger or steal a seat to save oneself – in fact, many boats left before reaching full capacity.

However, Ismay had a say in the number of lifeboats the ship should carry. the Titanic He ended up sailing with only 20 lifeboats because the 64 needed to carry all the passengers and crew comfortably would make the ship look “too crowded”.

After the tragedy, J. Bruce Ismay resigned from the White Star Line and lived out the rest of his life out of the public eye. He died on October 18, 1937.