Michel Marcel Navratil Jr. was a French philosophy professor who was one of the last survivors of the sinking of Titanic on 15 April 1912. He, along with his brother, Edmond (1910–1953), were known as the "Titanic Orphans", having been the only children rescued without a parent or guardian. He was three years old at the time of the disaster.
Navratil c. 1994
Michel, right, and his brother, Edmond, in a photograph taken to aid in their identification after the sinking
Lifeboats played a crucial role during the sinking of the Titanic on 14–15 April 1912. The ship had 20 lifeboats that, in total, could accommodate 1,178 people, a little over half of the 2,209 on board the night it sank.
The Titanic's Collapsible Boat D approaches RMS Carpathia at 7:15 am on 15 April 1912.
The Titanic, showing eight lifeboats along the starboard-side boat deck (upper deck): four lifeboats near the bridge wheel house and four lifeboats near the 4th funnel.
Titanic's wooden lifeboats in New York Harbor following the disaster. This particular image has been doctored to add the words "R.M.S. Titanic".[citation needed] The lifeboats bore the name "S.S. Titanic" on a plaque mounted at the other end of the boat.
Arrangement of lifeboats on the forward part of the Boat Deck of Titanic, shown on a large-scale model of the ship