The Sinking of the Titanic
Millvina Dean (1912–2009)
Millvina Dean was one of the most famous passengers on the Titanic. Not only was she
the youngest, but in 2007 she gained the somewhat unenviable title of being the last
remaining survivor. She spent the last few years of her life attending historical
conventions and exhibitions, appearing in documentaries, signing autographs and helping
history come alive for numerous groups of visiting school children. With her death, on 31
May 2009, exactly ninety-eight years after the launch of the Titanic, the last living link to
this great tragedy was lost to a world that is still fascinated with the sinking of the ship.
Millvina had only been nine weeks old when her parents carried her and her brother
aboard the Titanic in Southampton, England, on a cold April day in 1912. The family was
full of hope about starting a new life in the United States. Millvina was too young to
remember anything that happened aboard the ship, but it did change her life forever.
The family had not planned to travel aboard the Titanic. However, the ship they were
going to travel with was cancelled due to a coal strike and they were transferred to the
Titanic. They were very excited about this because the Titanic was the biggest passenger
ship ever built and this was its first voyage. Up in first class, there were many famous
businessmen and celebrities.
Two days into the journey from Southampton to New York, temperatures had dropped
close to freezing. There was no moon that night but the skies were clear and the water
was calm. In these ideal conditions, the captain, Edward J. Smith, ordered the ship to
proceed at its maximum speed of 23 knots, or approximately 26 miles per hour (43 km
per hour).
At 11:40 that night, Millivina’s father woke up after hearing an incredibly loud crash. He
went to investigate and quickly discovered that the ship had collided with a large iceberg.
He ran back down to his cabin and woke up his wife and children. He ordered them to get
dressed as quickly as possible and go up onto the deck.
As the ship began to sink, passengers were loaded onto the lifeboats. It quickly became
apparent that there were not enough lifeboats to rescue everyone. Although the Titanic
could hold 3,000 passengers, it only had twenty lifeboats. This was the minimum required
by law. The ship owners had not thought they needed any more as they believed the
strong steel plating of the Titanic made it unsinkable. Now that disaster had struck, the
captain and crew had to face the fact that only half of the passengers could be saved.
They followed the principle of women and children first.
Millvina, her mother and her brother were among the lucky ones. They were loaded
aboard a lifeboat and after a short time drifting at sea, were picked up by one of the ships
that had come to the rescue. Her father, however, was not so fortunate. He had to say
goodbye to his young family and remain behind with the other men to wait for the
inevitable end.
Millvina’s mother returned to Southampton with her family. Hopes of a new life in the
United States were over. They lived on money given to them by charitable organizations
that had been set up to help survivors of the disaster. After such a tragic start, Millvina
lived an unremarkable life until she reached old age when fame found her again as the
last living survivor. Although she could remember nothing about the tragedy, she was a
living reminder of what had happened on that fateful night.
Read the Millvina Dean text more carefully and answer the ‘Why?’ questions.
a. Why was Millvina one of the most famous passengers on the Titanic?
b. Why were they going to New York?
c. Why were they travelling?
d. Why were they excited?
e. Why did the captain order the ship to?
f . Why did Millvina’s father wake up?
g. Why did the Titanic not have enough lifeboats?
h. Why did Millvina’s father stay on the boat?
