Tag: carpathia

Carpathia – History Connections

Today in History, July 17, 1918:

Crossing paths in history.

As most know, on April 12, 1912, RMS Titanic struck an iceberg and sank within 4 hours.

The nearest ship to receive her distress signal was the RMS Carpathia, which sped at full speed for two hours to the disaster scene. Upon her arrival, she rescued 705 survivors from the freezing waters of the North Atlantic.

The Carpathia’s crew became heroes, being awarded medals. Her Captain, Arthur Henry Rostron, was knighted and was a guest of President William Taft in the White House.

During WWI the Carpathia served as a troop ship, transporting thousands of American soldiers across the Atlantic to the war in Europe.

One of those doughboys was Frank Buckles, who would become the last surviving American Soldier from WWI before his death in 2011.

He was a prisoner of war in the Philippines during WWII (as a civilian) and a strong advocate for a WWI Memorial, which…led him to be a guest of President George W. Bush in the White House.

On this date in 1918 the Carpathia was sunk by German U-Boat U-55. All but 5 of her crew managed to escape to lifeboats.

They were in turn saved by the Sloop HMS Snowdrop, which arrived and drove off the German sub before it could machine gun the crew in their boats.

Everything is connected in history…you just have to find it. We usually know only a snippet of people’s lives. But they normally touch so much more.

Also on this date, in 1763, John Jacob Astor was born in Germany. He would immigrate to America and become America’s first millionaire. His grandson, John Jacob Astor IV, the world’s richest man, would die during the Titanic disaster.

Carpathia Makes History Again & Again

Today in History: July 17, 1918:

The RMS Carpathia, famous for having rushed through the night to rescue the survivors of the RMS Titanic disaster in 1912, was carrying out her duties as a WWI troop ship when she was torpedoed by U-Boat 55 and sank.

She lost all but 5 of her passengers before her survivors were rescued by the sloop HMS Snowdrop.

As an aside, one of the many Doughboys the Carpathia brought to Europe to fight the Hun was a young Frank Woodruff Buckles, a Missouri boy who when he died in 2011 at age 110, was the last American WWI veteran.

Connections Bring History Home

 

Today in History, July 17: 1763 – John Jacob Astor is born in Germany in modest circumstances.  He would immigrate to America…selling flutes.  Convinced to sell the musical instruments in New York and invest in the fur trade, he became America’s first Millionaire with his American Fur Company.  On April 12, 1912 his grandson and namesake, the world’s richest man, John Jacob Astor IV would die in the Titanic Disaster.

July 17: 1918 – Crossing paths in history.  The RMS Carpathia is sunk by U-Boat U-55 during WWI.  All but 5 of her crew managed to escape to lifeboats. They were in turn saved by the Sloop HMS Snowdrop, which arrived and drove off the German sub before it could machine gun the crew in their boats.

As previously stated, on April 12, 1912, RMS Titanic struck an iceberg and sank within 4 hours. The nearest ship to receive her distress signal was the RMS Carpathia, which sped at full speed for two hours to the disaster scene. Upon her arrival, she rescued 705 survivors from the freezing waters of the North Atlantic. The Carpathia’s crew became heroes, being awarded medals. Her Captain, Arthur Henry Rostron, was knighted and was a guest of President William Taft in the White House. During WWI the Carpathia served as a troop ship, transporting thousands of American soldiers across the Atlantic to the war in Europe.

Among them was Frank Buckles, who would become the last surviving American Soldier from WWI before his death in 2011. He was a prisoner of war in the Philippines during WWII (as a civilian) and a strong advocate for a WWI Memorial, which…led him to be a guest of President George W. Bush in the White House. 

Everything is connected in history…you just have to find it.