Edward Smith
Encyclopedia
Captain Edward John Smith, RD, RNR
Royal Naval Reserve
The Royal Naval Reserve is the volunteer reserve force of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. The present Royal Naval Reserve was formed in 1958 by merging the original Royal Naval Reserve and the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve , a reserve of civilian volunteers founded in 1903...

 (27 January 1850 – 15 April 1912) was an English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...

 naval reserve officer, and ship's captain. He was the officer in command of the and died when the ship sank in 1912. There is a statue
Statue
A statue is a sculpture in the round representing a person or persons, an animal, an idea or an event, normally full-length, as opposed to a bust, and at least close to life-size, or larger...

 to his legacy in Beacon Park
Beacon Park
Beacon Park is a public park in the centre of the city of Lichfield, Staffordshire, in the United Kingdom. The park was originally laid out in 1859 in the form of the Museum Gardens adjacent to the newly built Free Museum and Library and has been extended over the years to its current size of...

, Lichfield
Lichfield
Lichfield is a cathedral city, civil parish and district in Staffordshire, England. One of eight civil parishes with city status in England, Lichfield is situated roughly north of Birmingham...

, England.

Personal life

Edward John Smith was born in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...

, England to Edward Smith, a potter, and Catherine Hancock, née Marsh, who married on 2 August 1841 in Shelton, Staffordshire. His parents later owned a shop. Smith attended the Etruria
Etruria, Staffordshire
Etruria is a suburb of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England.-Home of Wedgwood:Etruria was the fourth and penultimate site for the Wedgwood pottery business. Josiah Wedgwood, who was previously based in Burslem, opened his new works in 1769. It was named after the Italian district of Etruria,...

 British School until the age of 13 when he went to Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

 to begin a seafaring career. He began his apprenticeship on the Senator Weber owned by A Gibson & Co., Liverpool.

On Tuesday 12 July 1887 Smith married Sarah Eleanor Pennington. Their daughter, Helen Melville Smith, was born in Waterloo, Liverpool, England, on Saturday 2 April 1898. The family lived in an imposing red brick, twin-gabled house, named "Woodhead", on Winn Road, Highfield, Southampton.

Ship captain

Smith joined the White Star Line
White Star Line
The Oceanic Steam Navigation Company or White Star Line of Boston Packets, more commonly known as the White Star Line, was a prominent British shipping company, today most famous for its ill-fated vessel, the RMS Titanic, and the World War I loss of Titanics sister ship Britannic...

 in March 1880 as the Fourth Officer of the . He served aboard the company's liners to Australia and to New York, where he quickly rose in stature. In 1887, he received his first White Star command, the . In 1888, Smith earned his Extra Master's Certificate and joined the Royal Naval Reserve
Royal Naval Reserve
The Royal Naval Reserve is the volunteer reserve force of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. The present Royal Naval Reserve was formed in 1958 by merging the original Royal Naval Reserve and the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve , a reserve of civilian volunteers founded in 1903...

 (thus entitling him to append his name with "R.N.R."), qualifying as a full Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

. This meant that in a time of war, Smith could be called upon to serve in the Royal Navy. Later, as a Commander in the Royal Naval Reserve, Smith's ship had the distinction of being able to wear the Blue Ensign
Blue Ensign
The Blue Ensign is a flag, one of several British ensigns, used by certain organisations or territories associated with the United Kingdom. It is used either plain, or defaced with a badge or other emblem....

 of the R.N.R.; British merchant vessels generally wore the Red Ensign (also known as the Red Duster
Red Ensign
The Red Ensign or "Red Duster" is a flag that originated in the early 17th century as a British ensign flown by the Royal Navy and later specifically by British merchantmen. The precise date of its first appearance is not known, but surviving receipts indicate that the Navy was paying to have such...

).

Bigger commands

Smith was s captain for nine years commencing in 1895. When the Boer War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...

 started in 1899, Smith and the Majestic were called upon to transport troops to Cape Colony
Cape Colony
The Cape Colony, part of modern South Africa, was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652, with the founding of Cape Town. It was subsequently occupied by the British in 1795 when the Netherlands were occupied by revolutionary France, so that the French revolutionaries could not take...

. Two trips were made to South Africa, both without incident, and for his service, King Edward VII
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...

 awarded Smith the Transport Medal
British campaign medals
British campaign medals are awarded to members of the British Armed Forces, Allied forces and civilians participating in specified military campaigns...

, showing the "South Africa" clasp, in 1903. Smith was regarded as a "safe captain".

As he rose in seniority, Smith gained a reputation amongst passengers and crew for quiet flamboyance. Some passengers would sail the Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

 only in a ship commanded by him. He became known as the "Millionaires' Captain" because England's upper class
Upper class
In social science, the "upper class" is the group of people at the top of a social hierarchy. Members of an upper class may have great power over the allocation of resources and governmental policy in their area.- Historical meaning :...

 were usually the ones who requested he be in command of the ships they sailed on. From 1904 on, Smith commanded the line's newest ships on their maiden voyages. In 1904, he was given command of the then-largest ship in the world at the time, White Star's new . Her maiden voyage from Liverpool to New York, sailing 29 June 1904, went without incident. After three years with the Baltic, Smith was given his second new "big ship," the . Once again, the maiden voyage went without incident.

During his command of the Adriatic, Smith received the Royal Naval Reserve's long service decoration, along with a promotion to Commander. By virtue of his receiving the long service decoration, he would now be referred to as "Captain Edward John Smith, RD, RNR", with RD standing for "Reserve Decoration."

Olympic class command

Smith had built a reputation as one of the world's most experienced sea captains, and so was called upon to take first command of the lead ship in a new class
Olympic class ocean liner
The Olympic-class ocean liners were a trio of ocean liners built by the Harland & Wolff shipyard for the White Star Line in the early 20th century...

 of ocean liners, the — again, the largest vessel in the world at that time. The maiden voyage from Liverpool to New York was successfully concluded on 21 June 1911, but as the ship was docking in New York harbor, it experienced a small incident. Docking at Pier 59 under the command of Captain Smith with the assistance of a harbour pilot, the Olympic was being assisted by twelve tugs when one got caught in the backwash of the Olympics starboard propeller. The tug was spun around, collided with the bigger ship, and for a moment was trapped under the Olympics stern, finally managing to work free and limp to the docks.

The Hawke incident

On 20 September 1911 Olympics first major mishap occurred during a collision with a British warship, , in which the warship lost her prow
Prow
thumb|right|295pxThe prow is the forward most part of a ship's bow that cuts through the water. The prow is the part of the bow above the waterline. The terms prow and bow are often used interchangeably to describe the most forward part of a ship and its surrounding parts...

. Although the collision left two of Olympics compartments
Ship floodability
Floodability is a characteristic of the construction of a ship to resist flooding.Floodability is achieved by dividing the volume of the hull into watertight compartments with decks and bulkheads , use of double bottom, and by other means.Watertight bulkhead compartments were written of by the Song...

 filled and one of her propeller shafts twisted, she was able to limp back to Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...

. At the resultant inquiry, the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 blamed Olympic for the incident, alleging that her massive size generated a suction that pulled Hawke into her side. On the bridge during this incident was Captain Smith.

The Hawke incident was a financial disaster for White Star, and the out-of-service time for the big liner made matters worse. Olympic returned to Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...

 and, to speed up the repairs, Harland and Wolff
Harland and Wolff
Harland and Wolff Heavy Industries is a Northern Irish heavy industrial company, specialising in shipbuilding and offshore construction, located in Belfast, Northern Ireland....

 was forced to delay Titanics completion, in order to use one of her propeller shafts and other parts for the Olympic.

Back at sea in February 1912, Olympic lost a propeller
Propeller
A propeller is a type of fan that transmits power by converting rotational motion into thrust. A pressure difference is produced between the forward and rear surfaces of the airfoil-shaped blade, and a fluid is accelerated behind the blade. Propeller dynamics can be modeled by both Bernoulli's...

 blade and once again returned to her builder for emergency repairs. To get her back to service immediately, Harland & Wolff yet again had to pull resources from Titanic, delaying her maiden voyage
Maiden voyage
The maiden voyage of a ship, aircraft or other craft is the first journey made by the craft after shakedown. A number of traditions and superstitions are associated with it....

 from 20 March to 10 April.

RMS Titanic

Despite the past trouble, Smith was again appointed to be in command of the greatest steamship when RMS Titanic left Southampton for her maiden voyage. Although some sources state that he had decided to retire after completing Titanics maiden voyage, an article in the Halifax Morning Chronicle on 9 April 1912 stated that Smith would remain in charge of the Titanic "until the Company (White Star Line) completed a larger and finer steamer."

On 10 April 1912, Smith, wearing a bowler hat and a long overcoat, took a taxi from his home to Southampton docks. He came aboard the Titanic at 7AM to prepare for the board of trade muster at 8:00AM. He immediately went to his cabin to get the sailing report from Chief Officer
Chief officer
A chief officer can refer to any of various leaders:In the military, it can refer to certain non-commissioned members:*Chief Petty Officer*Chief Warrant OfficerMarine occupation:*Chief Mate...

 Henry Wilde.

After departure at 12:00PM, the huge amount of water displaced by Titanic as she passed caused the laid-up New York
SS City of New York
City of New York was a British built passenger liner of the Inman Line that was designed to be the largest and fastest liner on the Atlantic. When she entered service in August 1888, she was the first twin screw express liner and while she did not achieve the westbound Blue Riband, she ultimately...

 to break from her moorings and swing towards the Titanic. Quick action from Smith helped to avert a premature end to the maiden voyage.

At 11:40PM on 14 April, the Titanic struck an iceberg
Iceberg
An iceberg is a large piece of ice from freshwater that has broken off from a snow-formed glacier or ice shelf and is floating in open water. It may subsequently become frozen into pack ice...

 in the North Atlantic. The ship sank two hours and forty minutes later, killing an estimated 1,500 people. Smith was one of those who died. His body was never recovered.

Death

It is not known how Smith died on the night of the sinking. Robert Ballard
Robert Ballard
Robert Duane Ballard is a former United States Navy officer and a professor of oceanography at the University of Rhode Island who is most noted for his work in underwater archaeology. He is most famous for the discoveries of the wrecks of the RMS Titanic in 1985, the battleship Bismarck in 1989,...

's book, The Discovery of the Titanic, and historians alike claim that Smith was on the bridge at 2:13 AM, 7 minutes before the final sinking and went down with the ship. Some sources state that Smith quietly wandered off to the ship's wheelhouse
Pilothouse
A pilothouse or pilot-house is a glass-enclosed room from which a ship is controlled by the ship's pilot. The pilothouse also is known as the wheelhouse....

, while others say he was actively present in the radio room. Working near Collapsible B, Junior Marconi Officer Harold Bride reported seeing Smith dive into the sea from the open bridge minutes before the final plunge began. One story states he carried a child to the overturned collapsible B after the sinking and swam off to freeze in the water, but according to historians featured in the A&E Documentary Titanic: Death of a Dream, that story is generally considered romantic fiction.

The plaque below his memorial statue in Lichfield states: "Commander Edward John Smith, RD, RNR. Born January 27 1850, Died April 15 1912, Bequeathing to his countrymen the memory and example of a great heart, a brave life and a heroic death. Be British."

Portrayals

  • Otto Wernicke
    Otto Wernicke
    Otto Karl Robert Wernicke was a German actor. He was best known for his role as police inspector Karl Lohmann in the two Fritz Lang films M and The Testament of Dr. Mabuse. He was the first one to portray Captain Smith in the first "official" Titanic film.Wernicke was married to a Jewish woman...

     (1943) (Titanic
    Titanic (1943 film)
    Titanic was a 1943 Nazi propaganda film made during World War II in Berlin by Tobis Productions for UFA, which was later banned from Nazi Germany by Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels. The film used the sinking of the RMS Titanic as a setting for an attempt to discredit British and American...

    )
  • Brian Aherne
    Brian Aherne
    Brian Aherne was a British actor of both stage and screen, who found success in Hollywood.-Early life and stage career:...

     (1953) (Titanic
    Titanic (1953 film)
    Titanic is a 1953 American drama film directed by Jean Negulesco. Its plot centers on an estranged couple sailing on the maiden voyage of the , which took place in April 1912.-Plot:...

    )
  • Clarence Derwent (1956) (Kraft Television Theatre
    Kraft Television Theatre
    Kraft Television Theatre is an American drama/anthology television series that began May 7, 1947 on NBC, airing at 7:30pm on Wednesday evenings until December of that year. In January 1948, it moved to 9pm on Wednesdays, continuing in that timeslot until 1958. Initially produced by the J...

    ) (A Night to Remember)
  • Laurence Naismith
    Laurence Naismith
    Laurence Naismith was an English actor.Naismith appeared in films such as Carrington VC , Richard III , Sink the Bismarck! , Jason and the Argonauts , and Diamonds Are Forever . He also starred in a children's ghost film The Amazing Mr Blunden...

     (1958) (A Night to Remember)
  • Michael Rennie
    Michael Rennie
    Michael Rennie was an English film, television, and stage actor, perhaps best known for his starring role as the space visitor Klaatu in the 1951 classic science fiction film The Day the Earth Stood Still. However, he appeared in over 50 other films since 1936, many with Jean Simmons and other...

     (1966) (The Time Tunnel
    The Time Tunnel
    The Time Tunnel is a 1966–1967 U.S. color science fiction TV series. The show was created and produced by Irwin Allen, his third science fiction television series. The show's main theme was Time Travel Adventure. The Time Tunnel was released by 20th Century Fox and broadcast on ABC. The show ran...

    ) (Rendezvous With Yesterday)
  • Harry Andrews
    Harry Andrews
    Harry Fleetwood Andrews, CBE was an English film actor known for his frequent portrayals of tough military officers. His performance as Sergeant Major Wilson in The Hill alongside Sean Connery earned Andrews the 1965 National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor and a nomination for the...

     (1979) (S.O.S. Titanic
    S.O.S. Titanic
    S.O.S. Titanic is a 1979 television movie that depicts the doomed 1912 voyage from the perspective of three distinct groups of passengers in First, Second, and Third Class, and respectively in a historically accurate fashion...

    ) (TV Movie)
  • Hugh Reilly
    Hugh Reilly
    Hugh Reilly was an American actor, appearing on the Broadway stage, in films, and on television. He is best remembered for co-starring in the mid-1950s television series Lassie.-Early years and career:...

     (1983) (Voyagers!
    Voyagers!
    Voyagers! is an American science fiction time travel-based television series that aired on NBC during the 1982–1983 season. The series stars Jon-Erik Hexum and Meeno Peluce.-Plot:...

    ) (Voyagers of the Titanic)
  • George C. Scott
    George C. Scott
    George Campbell Scott was an American stage and film actor, director and producer. He was best known for his stage work, as well as his portrayal of General George S. Patton in the film Patton, and as General Buck Turgidson in Stanley Kubrick's Dr...

     (1996) (Titanic
    Titanic (TV miniseries)
    Titanic is a made-for-TV movie that premièred on CBS in 1996. Titanic follows several characters on board the RMS Titanic when she sinks on her maiden voyage in 1912. The miniseries was directed by Robert Lieberman. The original music score was composed by Lennie Niehaus...

    ) (TV Miniseries)
  • John Cunningham (1997) (Titanic
    Titanic (musical)
    Titanic is a musical with music and lyrics by Maury Yeston and a book by Peter Stone that opened on Broadway in 1997. It won five Tony Awards including the award for Best Musical...

    ) (Broadway Musical)
  • Bernard Hill
    Bernard Hill
    Bernard Hill is a British actor of film, stage and television. In a career spanning thirty years, he is best known for playing Yosser Hughes, the troubled 'hard man' whose life is falling apart in Alan Bleasdale's groundbreaking 1980s TV drama, Boys from the Blackstuff...

     (1997) (Titanic
    Titanic (1997 film)
    Titanic is a 1997 American epic romance and disaster film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. A fictionalized account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson, Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater and Billy Zane as Rose's fiancé, Cal...

    )
  • Kenneth Belton (2001) (Titanic: The Legend Goes On
    Titanic: The Legend Goes On
    Titanic: The Legend Goes On is a 2001 Italian animated film about the sinking of the RMS Titanic.-Plot:The movie begins on a White Star Line chartered boat train, boarding passengers to the RMS Titanic...

    ) (Animated Film)
  • John Donovan
    John Donovan
    John Rawdon Donovan was an Australian politician. He was an Australian Labor Party member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1930 until 1932, representing the electorate of Murray....

     (2003) (Ghosts of the Abyss
    Ghosts of the Abyss
    Ghosts of the Abyss is a 2003 documentary film released by Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media. It was Disney's first film produced in 3-D and was directed by Academy Award winning filmmaker James Cameron after his Oscar winning film Titanic...

    ) (Documentary)
  • Alan Rothwell
    Alan Rothwell
    Alan Rothwell is a British actor and television presenter. He was born in Oldham, Lancashire. He first came to fame in 1960, playing the character David Barlow in the then new ITV soap opera Coronation Street. He remained in this role in 1968, and the character was killed off two years later...

     (2005) (Titanic: Birth of a Legend) (TV Documentary)
  • Malcolm Tierney
    Malcolm Tierney
    Malcolm Tierney is an English actor who has appeared in many film and television roles.His roles include the part of Tommy McArdle in Brookside between 1983 and 1987, Charlie Gimbert in Lovejoy, Geoffrey Ellsworth-Symthe in A Bit of a Do, Patrick Woolton in House of Cards and Chief Const. Raymond...

     (2008) (Who Sank the Titanic? aka The Unsinkable Titanic) (TV Documentary)
  • David Calder (actor)
    David Calder (actor)
    David Calder is a British actor.Calder was born in Portsmouth, England, and trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. His most high profile TV roles include Det. Insp...

     (2012) (Titanic
    Titanic (TV series)
    Titanic is a television costume drama based on the sinking of the RMS Titanic. It is one of two large budget television dramas set to be released in April 2012, the centenary of the disaster. The other is Titanic: Blood and Steel.-Overview:...

    ) (TV series/4 episodes)

External links

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