Elizabeth Gladys Dean
Unlike Margaret Brown, Elizabeth Gladys Dean gained her fame as a Titanic survivor by being one of the few infants to survive the ship’s devastating plight and being the last living survivor until her death in 2009. After the tragedy, many people wished to hold the infant who miraculously lived. Dean, being an infant during the sinking of the ship, was not aware that she was on board the Titanic until eight years later when her mother informed her of the fact. Dean and her brother, a survivor of the accident as well, received their education through funding contributed by organizations devoted to the aid of the Titanic’s survivors, organizations like those Margaret Brown aided. As the years passed interest in the youngest Titanic survivor dissipated and Dean pursued other interests including working as a cartographer for the British government during World War II. It was not until the sunken vessel was recovered, although still submerged, in 1985 that Dean regained fame (Millvina Dean). She traveled to events pertaining to the Titanic and was invited to the 1997 movie premier of Titanic but did not attend because she believed it would cause her grief. The film’s participants later aided in her financial needs a month before her death in 2009. Also responsible for funding her monetary needs were the British Titanic Society and the Belfast Titanic Society (Ritchie). These funding efforts have been reported to total 30,000 dollars but as Dean died only a month after the funds were raised, they appear to have come later than was necessary. Dean’s death is ironic in that it occurred exactly 98 years after the Titanic’s initial departure. Her brother’s death in 1992 marked the eightieth anniversary of when the Titanic hit the iceberg. Dean and her brother’s fates seem intertwined with the epic of the Titanic (Millvina Dean).
What is remarkable about Dean’s story is that she and her family were not originally meant to board the Titanic but did due to a coal strike that affected their plans to board the Adriatic. The Adriatic was to take the family to Wichita, Kansas where they had arranged to start a tobacco store. The Titanic’s route also led to Wichita but after it sunk and Bertram, Dean’s father, perished the grieving family returned to England on the now available Adriatic (Millvina Dean). Dean’s survival in the lifeboat floating on the frigid sea is attributed to her being covered in a sack (Ritchie).
What is remarkable about Dean’s story is that she and her family were not originally meant to board the Titanic but did due to a coal strike that affected their plans to board the Adriatic. The Adriatic was to take the family to Wichita, Kansas where they had arranged to start a tobacco store. The Titanic’s route also led to Wichita but after it sunk and Bertram, Dean’s father, perished the grieving family returned to England on the now available Adriatic (Millvina Dean). Dean’s survival in the lifeboat floating on the frigid sea is attributed to her being covered in a sack (Ritchie).
