The OlympicĬaptain Smith was involved in another disaster, the year before the Titanic accident, involving a sister ship of the Titanic called the Olympic.
![titanic captain titanic captain](https://www.williammurdoch.net/images/01_smith.jpg)
It might have been over-reaching to think that 12 year old school drop out could handle the tasks of being captain to some of the largest passenger vessels ever created. He certainly had no formal Royal Navy training. He did work his way up the ranks and earn certifications in handling cargo vessels, but that had nothing to do with the enormous responsibility that goes along with carrying human freight, or passengers. There’s not much known as to what he did during the years between leaving school and becoming a sailor. Smith finished school at 12 years old and took to the sea as a teenager. EducationĬaptain Smith was born the son of a potter and was taking training to follow suit at a school that was sponsored by the famous Wedgwood pottery works. Less forgiving others say the Titanic was “built by Irishmen and sunk by an Englishman” Captain Smith was ultimately found “not responsible” for the sinking of the Titanic on her maiden voyage, but is that completely true? There are a few reasons to call into question the qualifications and attentiveness of Captain Smith. “She was fine when she left here.” is a standard Irish refrain which is still used in Belfast today when conversation turns to the subject of the tragic Titanic. The ship was built in the Harland & Wolfe shipyard in Belfast, Ireland, before setting sail to pick up it’s passengers in Southampton, England. Titanic was built to the highest standards of the day and was deemed unsinkable. Captain Smith was responsible for over 2,200 passengers and more than 1,200 were killed that fateful night of April 14. He is most noted as the captain of the doomed passenger ship the Titanic, which went down in 1912. Captain Edward Smith was born on Januin Hanley, Staffordshire, England.