Wiljo Unto Johannes Hämäläinen was born on 4 February 1911 in Merrimac, Essex, Massachusetts. He was the son of John, a metal beater, and Anna Lydia Amanda (née Wartianen) Hämäläinen.
He boarded the Titanic at Southampton with his mother Anna and Marta Hiltunen.
Anna and Wiljo were rescued (in which lifeboat is not known).
He died 18 March 1914 in Detroit, aged 3, listed as William Hamlin. One of the first Titanic survivors to die. The cause of death was given as endocarditis. He was buried four days later at Gethsemane Cemetery in Detroit.
Comment and discuss
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Hi! I just read something on Wikipedia about Wiljo Hamalainen, 8 month old second clss passenger, being the fourth last survivor of the Titanic to die. The article said he just died in 2004. I've never heard of this before and was wondering if it's true or just some rumor. The ET article on him doesn't list a date of death.
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The Wiljo Hamalainen you refer to was a nice old man in Gardner, Massachusetts that was born in Finland and immigrated to the United States in 1935. He was quite amused to hear that someone with the same name was on Titanic. Wiljo of the Titanic died sometime around the beginning of World War I.
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Wiljo wasn't very old when he died, then! Only about two years old! I had no idea! Poor little kid. He looks so innocent and sweet in the picture I have of him. Somehow, Wikipedia must have gotten that other Wiljo Hamalainen must have gotten mixed up with this one. He sounds like a very nice person.
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Viljo died around ww1? I never heard of this? Does anyone have date? By the way Viljo's full name is Viljo Unto Johannes Hamalainen. I got it off a Finnish site for Titanic.
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After searching through records in Finland, i have found the correct birthdate of Viljo, he is Viljo Unto Johannes Hämäläinen was born on 29 august 1911, in Kiihtelysvaara (Near Joensuu) Finland. That also makes Viljo 7 months old on Titanic, not 8 months.
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Holly, I hope I don't seem rude, but I wondered if there is any chance you could email me the picture you have of Viljo? I would love to see what this baby looked like. I have been researching all the children on the Titanic so its nice to see their faces. My email is
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Viljo died in the 40's, not at an early age, as suspected.
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Anna Hamalainen and her infant son Viljo survived the Titanic disaster by getting away on Lifeboat #4. I presume they eventually joined Anna's husband William in Detroit and settled there, living out their lives as American citizens. Does anyone know of any of Anna's descendants and their contact details? I'll be grateful for any related information.
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What is the source of your information? Wiljo Hamalainen's biography on ET indicates that he died in 1914 due to endocarditis, aged 3 years and a bit. There is even mention of the cemetary where he rests and so that information must be right. That is a pity because I was hoping that Wiljo had lived to adulthood and had a family of his own. Although only a baby at the time he was saved from the sinking Titanic, had he lived and grown-up, his mother might have told him details of their survival and perhaps how and why their co-passenger Martta Hiltunen did not make it. She, Martta, has been the subject of my research for a few years but I have managed to get only limited information thus far. However, there seems to be more information now on ET about Ana Hamalainen after her own rescue from the Titanic. Her divorce from husband 'John' and eventual...
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Hello, Arun--- Please note that the message you're responding to is more than nine years old and that Hildur has not posted here in almost seven years.
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Thanks for that. But while we are on the subject, can we assume that Wiljo Hamalainen's bio as on ET now is accurate as far as can be known?
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Others will have to address that. I know nothing more than what's in this thread.
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