Titanic (Steamship), Shipwrecks -- North Atlantic Ocean -- History, Shipwrecks 

In April, 1912, on the maiden voyage of "Titanic," the world's largest and most luxurious passenger ship, 345 of the 1,343 passengers were ultimately bound for the Great Lakes region. Of these, 61 made Chicago their destination, 24 aimed for Detroit, while hundreds more headed for much smaller locations and rural settings in Ontario, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, western Pennsylvania and western New York state. Some of these passengers were returning to their homes; others hoped to settle in a new land. Some survived the world's most famous sinking; others never reached their goals. This book tells their stories, relying heavily upon over 100 survivors' interviews after their safe arrival and reports from their loved ones back home, ranging from Minneapolis/St. Paul and Duluth in Minnesota to Buffalo and Rochester in New York, from Sault Ste. Marie and Toronto in Ontario, to Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Toledo, to name only a few of the many Ohio destinations. Other chapters include a zestful account of how the Great Lakes press reported this universal tragedy (in varying degrees of emotion and accuracy), the effects that "Titanic" and her sinking had upon Great Lakes shipping and safety (influencing disastrous results such as the capsizing of the steamer, "Eastland," in Chicago's harbor three years later), and the role of wireless (early radio) in the "Titanic" disaster as well as its connections, significance and development in the Great Lakes. There is considerable information about two unique Great Lakes vessels which were launched almost simultaneously with "Titanic": the "City of Detroit III", which was then the largest paddlewheel steamer in the world, and the "Col. James B. Schoonmaker," the world's largest freighter at that time. Aside from size, the comparisons of these ships and their histories are astonishing. Also included are individual chapters dedicated to several colorful characters: Great Lakes captain and founder of a transportation company, Edward G. Crosby of Milwaukee, who was traveling on "Titanic" with his family; famous artists Francis David Millet and Samual Ward Stanton, who were on board the doomed ship and both of whom had strong Great Lakes connections (plus related information about two present-day Great Lakes maritime artists who coincidentally have vital links to "Titanic"); and a writer, born to a Great Lakes schooner captain on the shores of Lake Ontario at Oswego, New York, Morgan Robertson, who uncannily prophesied the "Titanic" disaster in a story he wrote and published in 1898, fourteen years before the famous ship sank. Aside from the many engrossing, never-before-told stories of "Titanic" survivors and victims from the Great Lakes region, this book makes numerous little-known connections between the world's most famous shipwreck and Great Lakes maritime history. These multiple links will astonish the reader!  

319 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm 

Print book : English