Mr George Wright
George Wright
(Courtesy: Public Archives of Nova Scotia / Alan Hustak, Canada)
Mr George Wright is believed to have been born in Tufts Cove, Nova Scotia, on 26 October 1849. (There is some confusion about the exact date in the records). He was a farmer's son, but during a visit to the U.S. Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876, he got the idea of compiling an international business directory, and became a successful printer before he was 30. He made a fortune publishing Wrights World Business Directories, which became an indispensable guide to the corporate world on three continents.
He was a well travelled, rich, but private individual with a social conscience. Wright was committed to better housing for the working poor, and when he went into the building construction business, he created a subdivision in Halifax which was one of the first anywhere to integrate housing for the rich and poor. His own house at 989 Young Ave, and two of his public buildings, The Marble Wright Building (1672 Barrington St.) and The Saint Paul Building, (1684 Barrington St.) still stand in downtown Halifax.
Wright sailed to Europe on the Empress of Ireland in the autumn of 1911, and was in Paris when he learned of Titanic's maiden voyage. He apparently booked passage at the last minute; his name does not appear on the list of ship's passengers distributed during the voyage. He paid £26 for his ticket, but there is no record of which cabin he was assigned, but it was a single berth cabin, probably on E Deck where many of the commercial travellers were booked.
No one recalls seeing Wright on the voyage. He kept to himself, and friends speculate that because he was a heavy sleeper he probably went to bed on the evening of April 14 and possibly never woke up. His body, if recovered, was never identified.
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References and Sources
Public Archives of Nova Scotia
Alan Hustak (1999) Titanic: The Canadian Story. Véhicule Press. ISBN 1 55065 113 7
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Alan Hustak, Canada
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