Key Points
-
Introduction:
- Rumors of an officer’s suicide circulated even as the Carpathia arrived in New York.
- Various accounts and testimonies suggest different officers might have committed suicide, including First Officer Murdoch, Chief Officer Wilde, and Captain Smith.
-
Primary Accounts of an Officer’s Suicide:
- Eugene Patrick Daly: Daly mentioned seeing an officer shoot two men and then himself, but his accounts vary.
- Miss Laura Francatelli: Claimed to have seen an officer shoot himself from a lifeboat, but her account is problematic due to timing and distance.
- George Alexander Lucien Rheims: Described an officer shooting a man and then himself.
- Richard Norris Williams: Heard a gunshot but did not see the incident.
-
Primary Accounts with No Mention of Suicide:
- Harold S. Bride: Marconi operator who did not mention any gunshots in his detailed accounts.
- Archibald Gracie: Did not hear or see any gunshots and doubted the suicide rumors.
- Charles Herbert Lightoller: Second Officer who did not mention any suicides in his accounts.
-
Secondary Accounts of an Officer’s Suicide:
- May Birkhead: Carpathia passenger who heard rumors of Captain Smith’s suicide.
- Paul Romaine Chevré: Initially claimed Captain Smith shot himself but later retracted the statement.
- John Collins: Mentioned an officer shooting two men and then himself, but did not testify to this at the inquiry.
-
Secondary Accounts with No Mention of Suicide:
- Joseph Bruce Ismay: Did not mention any suicides in his accounts.
- William Mellors: Denied seeing any suicides.
- Arthur Henry Rostron: Carpathia’s captain who heard from crew members that Captain Smith did not commit suicide.
-
Analysis and Speculation:
- The document discusses the possible motivations and locations of various officers who might have committed suicide, including Captain Smith, Chief Officer Wilde, First Officer Murdoch, and others.
- It also examines the likelihood of these officers having firearms and their potential reasons for suicide.
-
Conclusion:
- There is no concrete evidence to confirm that any officer committed suicide on the Titanic.
- Many accounts are contradictory, and some survivors could not have seen what they claimed.
- The authors suggest that all the officers and crew were heroes who did their duty until the end, regardless of whether any of them took their own life.
Find it on wormstedt.com
Encyclopedia Titanica is not responsible for the content of external sites, and the availability of links may change.
About Research References on Encyclopedia Titanica
This item is not available to read on Encyclopedia Titanica, but we have included it as a reference, provided a brief summary of the key points, and linked to the original source to help readers interested in the finer details of the Titanic story.