John J. Astor- was a businessman investor, writer that was aboard the Titanic. He was the richest man on board. In 1912 he was considered the richest person in the world. In 1912 Astor was worth 85 million dollars which today would equal to 2.08 billion dollars. He married Ava Willing in 1891 and they had 2 children. They divorced in 1909.
In 1909 divorce was considered a scandal and Astor shocked society when he announced that he was going to remarry. In 1911 Astor was 47 years old when he married 18 year old Madeleine Force. Astor’s new bride was a year younger than Astor’s son. The Astors took a extended honeymoon to wait for the gossip of their marriage to die down. During their travels Madeleine became pregnant. Wanting their child to be born in the United States they boarded the RMS Titanic. John Jacob Astor did not survive the sinking. Astor’s body was recovered from the sea on April 22nd. Astor’s body was identified by the initals that were sewn on the label of his jacket. Also on his body was his pocket watch that his son claimed and wore for the rest of his life.
Madeleine Force Astor- when she was 18 years old Madeleine married the very rich John Jacob Astor who was 29 years older than her. To avoid gossip the Astor’s took a extended honeymoon during their travels Madeleine became pregnant. Wanting their child to be born in America they boarded the Titanic. At the time of the sinking Madeleine was 5 months pregnant. When it became apparent the the ship would sink, Astor put his wife in lifeboat , witnesses claimed that John Astor asked to be put on the lifeboat with his wife because of her delicate condition he was told no so he then asked the number of the lifeboat so that he could be reunited with his wife when they were rescued. John Jacob Astor’s will left Madeleine a lump sum of $100,ooo dollars and a trust fund of 5 million and also there homes. The will also clearly stated that if Madeleine were to remarry she would lose the trust fund and the homes. In August of 1912, Madeleine gave birth to their son John Jacob Astor VI. In 1916 Madeleine did remarry and as stated in Astor’s will she lost the stipend from her trust fund and the right to live in any of the Astor mansions. Madeleine and her second husband had 2 children. Madeleine and her second husband divorced in 1933. Four months later she remarried again, she and her third husband divorced in 1938. Madeleine died of a heart ailment in 1940 at the age of 47.
Margaret “Molly” Brown- earned the nickname the unsinkable Molly Brown due to her survival of the sinking of the Titanic and for yelling at the crew member in her lifeboat to go back and try to get people out of the water. Her fame of being a Titanic survivor helped her promote issues that she felt strongly about. Margaret Brown died in 1932 at the age of 65 from a brain tumor.
Thomas Andrews- was the architect that was in charge of the plans for the RMS Titanic. When the Titanic collided with the iceberg Captain Smith summoned Thomas Andrews to access the damage to the ship. When Andrews observed that more than four compartments were flooding he instantly knew that ship would sink. When they started the evacuation process Andrews searched staterooms and advised passengers to put on their life jackets and to go up on deck. There are different stories of Thomas Andrews on the night of the sinking of the Titanic. One story states that he was seen in the first class smoking room staring at a painting with his life jacket laying on a nearby table,another story is of him in the smoking room collecting his thoughts and then returning to help evacuate passengers and throwing deck chairs into the freezing water for the passengers that were in the water to use a floating devices. Thomas Andrews parished in the sinking and his body was never recovered.
