Archibald Gracie
Archibald Gracie IV (born January 17, 1859 in Mobile , Alabama , † December 4, 1912 in New York City ) was an American historian , businessman and writer . He survived the sinking of the RMS Titanic , his book about the disaster became a bestseller and is still published today.
Life
Archibald Gracie came from a wealthy Scottish-American family. His father, Archibald Gracie III, served in the Confederate States Army during the Civil War and died during the Siege of Petersburg in 1864 . One of his ancestors, also called Archibald Gracie, had built the Gracie Mansion in New York. Gracie attended St. Paul's School in Concord , New Hampshire , and then studied at the United States Military Academy , which he left without a degree. He worked as a historian and was married to Constance Gracie (née Schack) from 1890, with whom he had two daughters, Constance and Edith. In 1912 Gracie decided to travel to Europe, which he did on board the RMS Oceanic without his family . He started his return journey on the Titanic .
RMS Titanic
Archibald Gracie was a First Class passenger when the Titanic collided with an iceberg on April 14, 1912 at 11:40 p.m. While the ship sank, he helped until shortly before the fall at 2:20 PM Second Officer Charles Lightoller when filling the lifeboats . While trying to clear the last emergency boat, he and the other helpers were washed off the bridge. Then he swam to emergency boat B, which was floating keel up in the water, and was able to save himself. He reached New York City with the other survivors on board the RMS Carpathia .
Upon his return home, Gracie wrote one of the most detailed and successful books on misfortune. His work "The Truth about the Titanic" was a bestseller and is published to this day under the title "Titanic: A Survivor's Story" . Archibald Gracie suffered from the effects of hypothermia after the sinking of the Titanic and from psychological stress until his death . He could not cope with the accident. He died a few months after the accident of complications due to his diabetes .
In the later films of the shipwreck, Archibald Gracie was portrayed by James Dyrenforth ( The Last Night of the Titanic , 1958) and Bernard Fox ( Titanic , 1997).
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| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Gracie, Archibald |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Gracie, Archibald IV |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American historian, businessman, and writer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 17, 1859 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Mobile, Alabama |
| DATE OF DEATH | 4th December 1912 |
| Place of death | New York City |