Edward Smith (sea captain)
Edward John Smith RD RNR (27 January 1850 – 15 April 1912) was a British sea captain and naval officer. In 1880, he joined the White Star Line as an officer, beginning a long career in the British Merchant Navy. Smith went on to serve as the master of numerous White Star Line vessels. During the Second Boer War, he served in the Royal Naval Reserve, transporting British Imperial troops to the Cape Colony. Smith served as captain of the ocean liner Titanic, and went down with the ship when she sank on her maiden voyage.
Edward Smith
15 April 1912 (aged 62)
Sea captain, naval officer
Being the captain of Titanic
Helen Melville Smith
Early life
Edward John Smith was born on 27 January 1850 on Well Street, Hanley, Staffordshire,[1][2] England to Edward Smith, a potter, and Catherine Hancock, born Marsh, who married on 2 August 1841 in Shelton, Staffordshire. His parents later owned a shop.
Smith attended the British School in Etruria, Staffordshire, until the age of 13 when he left and operated a steam hammer at the Etruria Forge. In 1867, he went to Liverpool at the age of 17 in the footsteps of his half-brother Joseph Hancock, a captain on a sailing ship.[3] He began his apprenticeship on Senator Weber, owned by A Gibson & Co. of Liverpool.
On 13 January 1887, Smith married Sarah Eleanor Pennington at St Oswald's Church, Winwick, Lancashire. Their daughter, Helen Melville Smith, was born in Waterloo, Liverpool on 2 April 1898. When the White Star line transferred its transatlantic port from Liverpool to Southampton in 1907, the family moved to a red brick, twin-gabled house, named "Woodhead", on Winn Road, Highfield, Southampton, Hampshire.[4][5]
Career
Early commands
Edward Smith joined the White Star Line in March 1880 as the Fourth Officer of SS Celtic.[6] He served aboard the company's liners to Australia and to New York City, where he quickly rose in status. In 1887, he received his first White Star command, the Republic. Smith failed his first navigation exam, but on the next attempt in the following week he passed, and in February 1888, Smith earned his Extra Master's Certificate. Smith joined the Royal Naval Reserve, receiving a commission as a Lieutenant, which entitled him to add the letters "RNR" after his name. This meant that in a time of war he could be called upon to serve in the Royal Navy. His ships had the distinction of being able to fly the Blue Ensign of the RNR; British merchant vessels generally flew the Red Ensign.[7][8][9] Smith retired from the RNR in 1905 with the rank of Commander.
Family
Smith's mother, Catherine Hancock, lived in Runcorn, Cheshire, where Smith himself intended to retire. She died there in 1893. Smith's half-sister Thyrza died in 1921 and his widow, Sarah Eleanor Smith, was hit and killed by a taxi in London in 1931.[53] Their daughter, Helen Melville, married and gave birth to twins, Simon and Priscilla. Simon, a pilot in the Royal Air Force, was killed in World War II. Priscilla died from polio three years later; neither of them had children. Helen died in 1973.[2]