Michel Navratil

Michel Navratil (right) with his brother Edmond shortly after the sinking of the Titanic

Michel Marcel Navratil (born June 12, 1908 in Nice , France , † January 30, 2001 in Montpellier , France) was a French philosopher who was a professor at the University of Montpellier . He was one of the last male survivors of the sinking of the Titanic at the time of his death

Life

Michel Navratil was the eldest of two children of Michel Navratil Sr. and his wife Marcelle. Under the code name "Louis M. Hoffman", which was borrowed from a friend of his father's, his father went on April 10, 1912 in Southampton together with him and his brother Roger (born March 5, 1910) as a passenger on the Titanic. The reason was a bitter custody battle with Marcelle, in the course of which Michel Navratil Sr. had kidnapped the children.

On the night of April 15, 1912, the boys were asleep when their father rushed into their cabin, F-2, woke them up, and took them with another passenger through barriers and corridors up to the boat deck. Here he put the children in folding boat D, the last abfierende lifeboat , and carried them greetings to the mother. Michel Navratil Sr. was killed that night. After the sinking, first-class passenger Margaret Hays agreed to take care of the boys when they arrived in New York City , as they were the only children who had survived without a parent or guardian. Marcelle Navratil learned of the fate of her sons through newspapers in which the photo of the boys went around the world. On May 16, 1912, the mother met her sons and returned to France with them on board the Oceanic .

Navratil attended university, where he met his future wife in 1933. He himself became a doctor and in 1952 a professor of philosophy at the University of Montpellier . His retirement took place in 1969. His scientific work was shaped by the experience of the shipwreck and its traumatic consequences. In an interview, he stated that he died at the age of four.

Fonts

Introduction critique à une découverte de la pensée , Presses universitaires de France, Paris 1954
Les tendances constitutives de la pensée vivante , Presses universitaires de France, Paris 1954

literature

Elisabeth Navratil: Les Enfants du Titanic. Hachette, 1998. ISBN 978-2-01-321545-9 (daughter's book for young people)
- Elizabeth Navratil; Joan De Sola Pinto: Survivors. Dublin: O'Brien Press, 1999.

Web links

Commons : Michel and Edmond Navratil - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Literature by and about Michel Navratil in the SUDOC catalog (Association of French University Libraries)
Obituary on BBC

Individual evidence

↑ He was often referred to in obituaries as the last male survivor (see e.g. BBC ). On June 16, 2001, however, Antonio Martinelli died, who, according to his family, also survived the sinking of the Titanic. [1] .
^ Mary McCarty: The Titanic's trickets turn out a tragedy ( Memento of October 6, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) . In: Laredo Morning Times, February 21, 2001. ( PDF file)

personal data
SURNAME	Navratil, Michel
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Navratil, Michel Marcel (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	French philosopher and university professor
DATE OF BIRTH	June 12, 1908
PLACE OF BIRTH	Nice , France
DATE OF DEATH	January 30, 2001
Place of death	Montpellier , France

[1] He was often referred to in obituaries as the last male survivor (see e.g. BBC ). On June 16, 2001, however, Antonio Martinelli died, who, according to his family, also survived the sinking of the Titanic. [1] .

[2] Mary McCarty: The Titanic's trickets turn out a tragedy ( Memento of October 6, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) . In: Laredo Morning Times, February 21, 2001. ( PDF file)