Joseph Bruce Ismay was an English businessman who served as chairman and managing director of the White Star Line. In 1912, he came to international attention as the highest-ranking White Star official to survive the sinking of the company's new flagship RMS Titanic, for which he was subject to severe criticism.
Ismay in 1912
Drawing from the 1912 book Wreck and sinking of the Titanic criticising Ismay by comparing his survival to a list of notable individuals who perished with the Titanic
Ismay's family grave at Putney Vale Cemetery, London (2014)
RMS Titanic sank on 15 April 1912 in the North Atlantic Ocean. The largest ocean liner in service at the time, Titanic was four days into her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City, with an estimated 2,224 people on board when she struck an iceberg at 23:40 on 14 April. Her sinking two hours and forty minutes later at 02:20 ship's time on 15 April, resulted in the deaths of more than 1,500 people, making it one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters in history.
The sinking of the Titanic as depicted in Untergang der Titanic, a 1912 illustration by Willy Stöwer
Titanic on sea trials, 2 April 1912
SS New York in her near collision with the Titanic
The iceberg thought to have been hit by Titanic, photographed the morning of 15 April 1912 by SS Prinz Adalbert's chief steward. The iceberg was reported to have a streak of red paint from a ship's hull along its waterline on one side.