JOSEPH BRUCE ISMAY

Coward, Villain, or A Man Who Was Judged Unfairly?

By Andrew Durant

INTRODUCTION

Imagine that you hid away from everyone for a huge portion of your

life because people criticized you for messing up the voyage of the

Titanic. This is what happened to J. Bruce Ismay.

This is J. Bruce Ismay’s story.

BACKGROUND

Born December 12, 1862

Parents were Thomas Ismay and Margaret Bruce

Father, Thomas, created the White Star Line

Joseph took control as chairman in this ship building company

upon his father’s death

EXPERIENCE

Attended school at Elstree School and Harrow

Later, he tutored in France for a year

Appointed to office in his father’s business in 1891

Became head of that business upon father’s death in 1899

CUNARD LINE SHIPS

BIRTH OF AN IDEA

In 1907, a shipyard chairman tells Joseph about the Cunard Line

of ships

Cunard Line ships were supposedly able to cross the ocean in

record time

The two men thought of the RMS Titanic, one of three ships that

would be faster and larger than Cunard Line ships

RMS TITANIC

FROM IDEA COMES REALITY

Main focus wasn’t high speed, but large size was needed to allow

more storage capacity for immigrant trade

In addition, they wanted luxury to be a high priority so that more

wealthy people would come aboard

The Titanic’s first voyage began on April 10, 1912

J. Bruce Ismay’s plan was successful until four days later when the

Titanic hit a large iceberg

Going Down

THE AFTERMATH

Joseph discovered that what was going on and that the Titanic was

going to sink

Soon later, he realized that at least half the passengers would die

Joseph tried helping by lowering lifeboats into the water

Once he thought there were no more female or children

passengers, he boarded a lifeboat and went to the closest ship

RUMORS

Was Joseph pressuring Captain Edward J. Smith to make the

Titanic go faster?

Did he want to arrive in New York ahead of schedule?

Did he ignore an iceberg warning message while dining?

Was it his intention to break the speed record for crossing the

Atlantic Ocean?

Nobody knows…

UNDER PRESSURE

The press wanted to know if Joseph purposely left his ship while

women and children remained on board

Some newspapers call him the “Coward of the Titanic” or “J.

Brute Ismay”

People published negative cartoons and wrote evil poems about

his actions

This ridicule continued throughout the remainder of his life

CONCLUSION

Joseph lived for 25 years after the sinking of the Titanic

He finally died of a stroke in London on October 17, 1937

His lack of bravery caused his final years to be full of hatred and

unhappiness

WORKS CITED

“Bruce Ismay: Coward, Villian, or A Man Who was Judged Unfairly?”

Titanic Universe Home Page. 10 Feb. 2015.

<http://www.titanicuniverse.com/bruce-ismay/3148#sthash.uvYfE7aj.dpuf>.

“J. Bruce Ismay.”

Wikipedia Home Page. 11 Feb. 2015.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Bruce_Ismay>.

“Mr. Joseph Bruce Ismay.”

Encyclopedia-Titianica Home Page. 10 Feb. 2015.

<http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-survivor/j-ismay.html>.

“Titianicberg-J. Bruce Ismay.”

Titanicberg Home Page. 10 Feb. 2015.

<http://www.titanicberg.com/J._Bruce_Ismay.html>.