Jack Thayer

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For other persons of the same name, see John Thayer.

John Borland "Jack" Thayer III (December 24, 1894 - September 18, 1945) was a 17-year-old first-class passenger on the RMS Titanic who provided several first-hand accounts of the disaster.

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[edit] Aboard the RMS Titanic

Jack Thayer boarded the Titanic along with his father John Borland Thayer and his mother, Marian. Jack occupied cabin C-70 while his parents occupied C-68.[1].

Shortly after 11:40 p.m. on April 14, 1912, Jack was preparing for bed when he noticed the breeze through his half-open porthole stop. He did not recall feeling the ship's collision with the iceberg. He dressed and went to A deck on the port side to see what he could find. Finding nothing, he walked to the bow where he could faintly make out ice on the forward well deck[2].

Jack went and woke his parents and the three went back to the port side. Noticing that the ship was developing a list to the port side, they returned to their rooms and put both warmer clothes on and a life vest. They returned to the deck but Jack lost sight of his parents and after searching for them, assumed they had boarded a lifeboat.[3].

Jack soon met Milton Long, a fellow passenger he had only met hours before over coffee. Both Milton and Jack tried to board a lifeboat themselves, but were denied since they were men. Jack then proposed to jump off the ship into the waters, as he was a good swimmer. However, Milton was not a good swimmer and advised Jack against it.[4].

Eventually, the ship was going under faster and faster, so the two finally decided to jump and attempt to swim to safety. Milton went first; it was the last time Jack ever saw him. Once in the water, Jack and other passengers tried to balance on top of an overturned lifeboat. Jack later recalled that the cries of hundreds of people in the water reminded him of the high-pitched hum of locusts from his native Pennsylvania.[5].

After spending the night on the overturned lifeboat, Jacky was picked up by lifeboat 12. He was so distraught and freezing that he did not notice his mother in nearby lifeboat 4, or vice versa. Lifeboat 12 finally made its way to the rescue ship Carpathia at 8:30 a.m.[6].

[edit] After the sinking

After the sinking, Thayer went on to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania. He married Lois Cassatt and had two sons, Edward and John IV. He described his experiences with Titanic's sinking in a 1940 pamphlet known for its vivid detail. Robert Ballard used it to determine the location of the Titanic and proved that it split in half, contrary to popular opinion[7].

During World War II both of his children enlisted in the armed services. Edward was killed in 1945 in the Pacific theatre. With the news reaching Thayer, he became extremely depressed and committed suicide on September 18, 1945. He is buried at the Church of the Redeemer Cemetery in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Mr John Borland jr Thayer - Titanic Biography - Encyclopedia Titanica
  2. ^ Mr John Borland jr Thayer - Titanic Biography - Encyclopedia Titanica
  3. ^ Mr John Borland jr Thayer - Titanic Biography - Encyclopedia Titanica
  4. ^ Mr John Borland jr Thayer - Titanic Biography - Encyclopedia Titanica
  5. ^ Mr John Borland jr Thayer - Titanic Biographies - Encyclopedia Titanica
  6. ^ Mr John Borland jr Thayer - Titanic Biographies - Encyclopedia Titanica
  7. ^ Mr John Borland jr Thayer - Titanic Biography - Encyclopedia Titanica

[edit] Further reading

  • Titanic: A Survivor's Story and the Sinking of the S.S. Titanic by Archibald Gracie and Jack Thayer, Academy Chicago Publishers, 1988 ISBN 0-89733-452-3
  • Titanic: Triumph and Tragedy, by John P. Eaton and Charles A. Haas, W.W. Newton & Company, 2nd edition 1995 ISBN 0-393-03697-9
  • A Night to Remember, by Walter Lord, ed. Nathaniel Hilbreck, Owl Books, rep. 2004, ISBN 0-8050-7764-2

[edit] External links

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