Elizabeth Gladys “Millvina” Dean was not only the youngest to board the Titanic at the age of 2 months old, but she was also its last remaining survivor. She was only told about her experience when she was 8 years old when her mother was about to remarry. She worked as a cartographer.
“Millvina” took part in various Titanic-related events when she was in her 80s. She died on May 31, 2009, at the age of 97. Her body was cremated and was scattered at sea from the docks of Southampton where the biggest story of her life began as she sailed the doomed liner.
Many Were Never Found
The moment the news broke out about the massive loss of life, numerous ships were sent out to search and recover the bodies. The first ship to reach the area was the CS Mackay-Bennett. While all the ships that were part of the recovery team were all equipped with embalming supplies, the CS Mackay-Bennett quickly ran out of it and mostly preserved the bodies of those coming from the first-class accommodation.
Of the estimated total count of passengers killed at sea, only 333 bodies were recovered. Some were found days, even a month later. In mid-May, the RMS Oceanic found the bodies of those aboard collapsible Boat A, as it listlessly floated at sea.
The Youngest Passenger Became Famous
Elizabeth Gladys “Millvina” Dean was only 2 months old when she boarded the Titanic with her parents and brother, Bertram. Their family had planned to move to the US where his father had cousins up in Kansas. They were among the first third-class passengers to make it up to the top deck, as advised by Dean’s father who successfully got them to board a lifeboat.
He was one of those who was lost at sea, and his body was never recovered. The Deans decided to forego their plans to immigrate to the U.S. and decided to sail back to England instead. On the way back to Southampton, Dean was the darling of the RMS Adriatic and women flocked to hold and nurse her.
The Ship Didn’t Stay Intact
Ship experts and maritime analysts believed for a long time that the Titanic sank to the bottom of the ocean in one piece. But it was found more than 70 years after the tragic accident that it had broken apart. Its bow and stern sections were located a third of a mile from each other.
The ship’s stern was lifted almost pointing directly up to the sky as its bow gradually dove into the sea. Its propellers were exposed while the stern was kept afloat due to air trapped inside its structure. It was unable to hold its weight, and it broke off from its midsection, between the third and fourth funnel.
The Wreck Took 73 Years to Find
The sinking of the Titanic was so sudden and unexpected, its cause beyond belief, that radio operators must have panicked and given out inaccurate coordinates to their location. This, added to the fact that it was buried more than 12,000 feet beneath the surface, caused difficulties in finding the ship’s wreckage.
It was discovered in 1985 in an expedition led by Robert Ballard. This discovery was 73 years after the disaster, and all attempts to raise the wreck had failed. It remains on the seabed to this day.