Titanic is a film that has lasted decades and is something we would all watch again and again, but does it truly reflect how a key character died?
Okay, we all know the story: Rose (Kate Winslet) and Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) meet on the Titanic after Rose attempted s*icide.
Although she is about to marry an incredibly wealthy businessman and Jack is a penniless artist, the couple rapidly falls in love.
Anyway, throughout their love fest, we meet a number of characters that are said to be modeled on real-life persons who perished in the ill-fated RMS Titanic sinking in 1912.
This includes the ship’s skipper, Edward John Smith, who refused to evacuate the vessel as it sank, instead taking one last grasp of the wheel before the water broke through the glass and killed him.
It was a very tragic moment in the film, but did something similar happen in real life?
The 1997 film was directed by James Cameron, who thoroughly researched the story and visited the shipwreck multiple times.
However, this does not mean that he followed the actual actions of each person who inspired him.
On April 18, 1912, three days after the ship sank, the Los Angeles Express reported on its front page that ‘Captain E.J. Smith shot himself.’
The following day, the Daily Mirror reported, ‘Captain Smith Shoots Himself on the Bridge.’
According to the Daily Mail, various rumors circulated about the skipper after the ship fell, including his frequent drinking, reckless driving, and even disregarding warnings about icebergs in the vicinity.
Given the age-old practice of captains going down with their ships, it almost sounds like a bad rumor to insinuate that he violated his code of conduct.
But it’s all been resolved with the publication of a new book by Dan E. Parkes, who says Smith died in the ocean with his 1,495 victim passengers.
The book, Titanic Legacy: The Captain, The Daughter, and The Spy, maintains that the captain’s postmortem rumors were ludicrous.
He explained that three months after the sinking, somebody from Baltimore claimed Smith had survived and was quietly residing in Maryland.
Years later, Life magazine reported that a ‘down and out’ guy from Ohio claimed to be Smith.
Parkes then disregarded all claims against the mariner, including tales of his drinking and acting recklessly.
Using firsthand reports from witnesses, he described Smith’s dying moments.
While there were ‘eyewitness testimonies… that did claim a cop shooting and suicide,’ Parkes stated that the individual who shot himself was unidentified and that passengers heard gunfire and wanted someone to blame, ultimately settling on Smith.
He said that Robert Williams Daniel, a 27-year-old banker, stated he saw Captain Smith on the bridge’ as the Titanic fell.
The first-class passenger told the New York Herald that he saw the ocean swallow the captain.
“He died a hero,” Daniel explained.
Some survivors reportedly stated that he went down with his ship and attempted to save a newborn in his final minutes.
The 62-year-old was apparently accompanied by his personal steward, Arthur Paintin.
Frederick Dent Ray, a first-class saloon steward, told a US investigation that Paintin was ‘last seen on the bridge, standing beside the captain.’
Frederick Hoyt, a wealthy passenger, also stated that he ran across Smith while returning to the deck and they enjoyed a drink before the passenger jumped.
Isaac Maynard, a 31-year-old chef, testified in New York, saying, “I saw Captain Smith washed from the bridge and then swimming in the water.” He remained fully dressed, with his peak cap on his head.
“One of the men clinging to the raft tried to save him by reaching out a hand, but he refused and said, ‘Look after yourselves, boys.'” I am not sure what happened to the captain because I was unable to see him at the time, but I believe he sank.”