Titanic: First Accounts

[NicholasRBurr82]

I’m reading the book Titanic: First Accounts. I really appreciate the accounts and the editor’s work in this book, but I was confused by one sentence. On page xiv of the intro, the editor writes the following: “Nevertheless, women and children accounted for only about 10% of the 1500 people who died in the Titanic disaster, even though more men were saved than women.”

This statement confused me, since unless I’m reading this wrong, I’ve always understood that more men were lost than women or children on the ship. Likewise the 10% number for women simply doesn’t make sense to me based on what I’ve read elsewhere. Am I incorrect and/or completely misunderstanding the statement? I’ve been interested in Titanic for many years and I want to make sure I understand the facts correctly. Thanks.

 

[Arun Vajpey]

All that is correct if you go by sheer numbers rather than percentages. There were far more adult men on board the Titanic because the crew was predominanty male.

Please note that there might be slight variations to the actual figures below but not enough to make any significant difference to the statements.

Nevertheless, women and children accounted for only about 10% of the 1500 people who died in the Titanic disaster

I think it is about 11% of women and children (166) out of 1496 deaths.

Titanic disaster, even though more men were saved than women

Probably true. I calculated that 328 men and 324 women survived but there may be slight variations depending on whether girls and boys above a certain age were considered as children or adults. For example, if all minors were considered as "children" then 17 year-old 1st Class survivor Jack Thayer would be a 'child' but I believe most accounts include him among the adult male survivors. And so on.

I’ve always understood that more men were lost than women or children on the ship

True again. Over 1350 men - around 80% of the total male passengers and crew - died. Around 110 women - around 25% of the total, died.

The following link gives some idea of the demographics involved but I stress that the actual figures might be subject to minor corrections.

Titanic: Demographics of the Passengers

 

[Jason D. Tiller]

In addition, I would recommend reading Lester Mitcham's extensively researched article which offers an in-depth analysis:
The Statistics of the Disaster