Titanic Centennial Countdown: April 28, 1911: Editor William Stead Used His Voice to Fight Religious Intolerance Aimed at Mormon Faith

On this day 100 years ago, Pall Mall Gazette Editor William T. Stead rose to the defense of Mormons who found themselves increasingly persecuted by British newspapers and the British population at large. Writing in his newspaper's April 28, 1911 edition, Stead declared that "The attack upon the Mormons is almost entirely based upon the lie that their propaganda in this country is a propaganda in favor of polygamy, and that the chief object of the Mormon missionaries is to allure innocent and unsuspecting English girls into polygamous marriages."

"I have called this a lie because it is a demonstrably false statement, which is repeated again and again after it has been proved to be false. Not one of the anti-Mormon crusaders has ever been able to produce any evidence that at any time, in any place within the King’s dominions, has any Mormon apostle, elder, or missionary ever appealed, publicly or privately, to any one of the King’s subjects, male or female, to enter into polygamous relations with anyone here or in Utah. . . ."

"The falsehood that thousands of English girls are being shipped to Utah every year is sheer, unmitigated rot."

When, less than a year later, Stead died on the Titanic, Mormons on both sides of the Atlantic mourned his loss. Rudger Clawson wrote that “surely every Latter-day Saint whose eyes rest upon the writings of Mr. Stead . . . , will ever hold [him] in honorable remembrance.”

Titanic Centennial Countdown: April 27, 1911:Tender Traffic Launched

The tender Traffic is launched at the Harland & Wolff Shipyward in Belfast, Ireland. The 639-ton tender will carry third class passengers to and from the Olympic and Titanic and the shore of Cherbourg, France.

Cherbourg harbor, like that in Queenstown, Ireland, was too shallow to accomodate the immense Olympic-class liners. In fact, all harbors required changes before Olympic first sailed. The White Star pier in New York City had to be extended several feet, and Ocean Dock in Southampton, England, had to be dredged to a greater depth.

Traffic served her line well. At the outbreak of World War I, she, like her sister tender the Nomadic, was called to service as a troop transport. After the war, Traffic was sold to a French company and returned to her previous career as a tender.

In 1929 she collided with White Star's liner Homeric. After repairs, Traffic met with another calamity - this time a collision with the S.S. Minnewaska IV.

She saw service as a troop ship again - this time for the French - in World War II. The French Navy deliberately sank her in Cherbourg harbor in an attempt to prevent the German Navy from entering the harbor.

The German Navy later raised Traffic and put her to use as an armed convoy escort. She was re-named Ingenieur Riebell. It was under that name that she met her end when she was sunk by the British Royal Navy on Jan. 17, 1941.

Titanic Centennial Countdown: April 25, 1911:Tender Nomadic Launched

April 25, 1911.
The tender Nomadic is launched from the Harland & Wolff Shipyard's Hamilton Dock. She is one of two tenders built specifically to transfer passengers, cargo and mail to and from the Olympic-class liners from the port of Cherbourg, France.

Nomadic was the more luxurious of the ferries as she was designed to carry first and second class passengers to and from Olympic and Titanic while the Traffic would carry the third class passengers.

In World War I she was called to serve as a troop carrier. After the war she was sold to French interests. When World War II broke out she was once again converted to use as a troop carrier. Following the war she returned to her former life as a tender, serving Cunard liners until Nov. 1968, when she was retired.

Nomadic was purchased in 1974 and docked along the Seine in Paris, where she was converted into a restaurant. When that venture closed, the ship remained unoccupied until she was towed to Le Havre in 2006 and purchased, in January, by Northern Ireland's Department for Social Development.

Nomadic is now being restored to her original working condition in light of her special place in history as the last White Star liner still afloat. For more information, visit the Nomadic Preservation Society website.

New book claims Titanic sunk by steering mistake

The granddaughter of Titanic's senior surviving officer - Second Officer Charles Lightoller - has written a new book that says Titanic hit an iceberg because of a basic steering error.

First question that a lot of folks are asking - why now? Author Louise Patten says the truth has been hidden for fear of tarnishing the reputation of her grandfather, who according to Patten's book covered up this mistake in order to protect the White Star Line.

"They could easily have avoided the iceberg if it wasn't for the blunder," Patten told the Daily Telegraph. "Instead of steering Titanic safely round to the left of the iceberg, once it had been spotted dead ahead, the steersman, Robert Hitchins, had panicked and turned it the wrong way."

Doubt bubbles immediately appear over my head as I read this. First of all, the basic facts of the disaster seem indisputable. We know that when first sighted by lookouts Frederick Fleet and Reginald Lee, Titanic was facing down the iceberg head-on. And we know the order was given to helmsman Robert Hichens (the correct spelling) to turn the wheel "Hard a'starboard," which in 1912 on Titanic meant turning the wheel so that the ship would turn to the port side.

This is exactly what happened. We know this because Titanic turned just enough to port to hit the iceberg on her starboard side. This seems indisputable and thus the whole thesis of this new book seems dubious.

But the author goes further, saying that once the steering mistake was made "they only had four minutes to change course and by the time (first officer William) Murdoch spotted Hitchins' mistake and then tried to rectify it, it was too late."

From the evidence given at both the American and British investigations into the disaster we know that Titanic had less than 1 minute to react from the moment the iceberg was sighted until the collision.

The new book also asserts that this steering mistake was made worse by the fact that White Star Line Chairman J. Bruce Ismay ordered the captain to continue sailing.

"If Titanic had stood still, she would have survived at least until the rescue ship came and no one need have died," Patten said.

There is no evidence to suggest that this is true. Titanic only momentarily kept steaming after the collision and glided to a stop as her captain began to evaluate his ship's condition.

I'll be interested to hear what other Titanic historians have to say about this new book and its theories.

"Titanic" star Gloria Stuart dies at age 100

Let's all take a moment to remember Gloria Stuart, whose portrayal of "old Rose" put a human face on the tragedy of the Titanic in James Cameron's blockbuster 1997 film "Titanic."

RIP, Gloria.

Lest We Forget: 98 years after the disaster

Remember Titanic, her passengers and crew on the 98th anniversary of her collision with an iceberg in mid-Atlantic, and her sinking at 2:20 a.m. the next day.

So close to home

I just made a startling discovery thanks to the latest issue of the Titanic Commutator (Volume 33, Number 187), the official magazine of The Titanic Historical Society.



The issue carries a lengthy farewell to Millvina Dean, the last remaining Titanic survivor until her death on May 31, 2009. I always knew that Millvina's family boarded Titanic with the intention of emigrating to Kansas City, where her father was planning to open a tobacco shop.

What I did NOT know was that the house they intended to live in is located only a few blocks from my house in midtown Kansas City. To think all this time I thought I'd have to travel to New York, England or Ireland to be close to Titanic history. And here part of her story has been under my nose all this time.



Page 137 of the magazine shows a picture of Millvina in front of the house when she visited Kansas City in the late 1990s to see what would have been her home, located at 3659 Harrison Street. The caption incorrectly places the house in Kansas City, Kansas - when in fact it is in the heart of Kansas City, Missouri.



The house (marked with the A on the map) is on Harrison St. - just blocks east and a block north of my house on Charlotte (marked with the X on the map).



The house has changed little since Millvina's visit, and I wonder as I have driven past it several times in the last month if the current residents know the history of the house as it relates to Millvina and the Titanic. I wrote them a letter today and enclosed a copy of the picture from the Commutator. I wonder what the story will mean to them? Will it come as a surprise to find themselves in the midst of such history?

It certainly came as a surprise to me.