‘Titanic‘ still continues to be one of the most viewed movies in the world and an impressive cinematic achievement in Hollywood. It is the love story of two star-crossed lovers, Rose DeWitt Bukater (Kate Winslet) and Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio), who fell in love aboard the ship during its maiden voyage, which finally ended in tragedy. But how much of it is true?
While it is true that the RMS Titanic did sink in 1912 on its maiden voyage to New York, the heart-wrenching love story of Rose and Jack is fictitious. James Cameron did take some poetic license to fit the true story to the tale he wanted to say but there were some real-life characters in his retelling of the story. One of them was the owner of the Titanic, J. Bruce Ismay who we hear about when Rose asks about the lifeboats and she is told that someone thought that the deck would look cluttered with too many lifeboats.
Who Was J. Bruce Ismay, The Man Behind Titanic Ship?
J. Bruce Ismay has been one of the most despised men in the world. He was heir to the prestigious British White Star Line shipping company that owned the Titanic. Ismay ordered the construction of the RMS Titanic along with its two other sister ships, RMS Olympic and RMS Britannic in 1907. He was determined to build ships that would not only rival that of his Cunard Line competitors but would also have enormous steerage capacity and unparalleled luxury.
It was routine for Ismay to travel with the ship on their maiden voyages and that is exactly what he did with Titanic in 1912. He was the one who decided to put 20 lifeboats as he argued that the deck would look cluttered and was absolutely sure that there would be no need for lifeboats as the Titanic was unsinkable. He was asleep in the state room when he was notified about the Titanic hitting the iceberg and very quickly learned about the ship’s doomed fate.
The events that transpired on the Titanic and the way that was depicted created a very biased impression of Ismay – a rich businessman, who was arrogant and uncaring and instructed to increase the speed of the ship without paying any heed to safety and then proceeded to jump into a lifeboat the very first chance he got. Ismay never really got over the shame and humiliation that he received for jumping into that lifeboat and ultimately retired from the White Star Line in 1913.
In case you missed: James Cameron Reveals Leonardo DiCaprio Almost Lost ‘Titanic’ During Audition. Here’s What Happened
What Happened To J. Bruce Ismay?
J. Bruce Ismay was one of the first people to be notified of the ship’s profound damage when it hit the iceberg ensuring it was doomed to sink. There was an inquiry when the ship sank and London, New York, and Washington all conducted their investigations where the surviving passengers were asked to recount the story of their survival and that of Ismay’s as well.
There were some who said that Ismay had jumped into the first lifeboat while others recounted that the Captain was the one who ordered him into a lifeboat. Ismay, on the other hand, tells a different story. In the Senate inquiry, he recounts that he assisted the crewmen in prepping the lifeboats before the women and children got into them. He says in the inquiry that he helped board eight life boards on the starboard side of the ship. It must have been challenging to convince the passengers to abandon the warm comfort of their rooms for the boats on the cold, icy night, especially because there was no visible immediate danger. He was said to have used his position and influence to guide potentially hundreds of women and children to safety in lifeboats.
As it became painstakingly clear that the ship was fated to sink before the help could arrive, J. Bruce Ismay jumped into Engelhardt ‘C’ –the final boat lowered with the help of the davits. He stressed that he got into the lifeboat only when there was no one left. He describes what seems to be leaving an empty, despite the fact that he knew that the lifeboats were not enough to have emptied the ship. He further stressed that, unlike the crew who is expected to go down with the ship, he was a passenger but how could he have been a passenger when he never bought a ticket. Despite, the debates of whether he had any claim to the spot he took on the lifeboat, the investigations concluded that Ismay didn’t displace anyone to that spot on the lifeboat.
You might also like to read: Why Did Jack Have To Die In ‘Titanic’? James Cameron Ends Debate Using Science
