Edith Brown
Encyclopedia
Edith Eileen Haisman (27 October 1896 – 20 January 1997) was one of the last remaining and oldest survivors of the sinking of the RMS Titanic in April 1912. She was the last survivor born in the 19th century, though seven younger survivors outlived her.
, South Africa
(under British rule) to Thomas William Solomon Brown and Elizabeth Catherine Ford. Thomas owned and operated a hotel in Cape Town, South Africa.
Edith remembered clearly when RMS Titanic struck the iceberg at 11:40 p.m. on 14 April 1912. In a series of interviews in her later years and a biography, A Lifetime on the Titanic, published in 1995, Mrs. Haisman gave a vivid account of the ship's final moments, although some details have been called into question.
Edith's father did not survive the sinking and his body, if recovered, was never identified. Edith's last memory of her father was that he was dressed in an Edwardian dinner jacket while smoking a cigar and sipping brandy on Titanic's deck as Edith and her mother were being lowered in the lifeboat. Upon arrival in New York City
, Edith and her mother stayed at the Junior League House before traveling to Seattle, Washington
to live with Edith's aunt, Josephine Acton. Edith and her mother soon returned to South Africa
where Edith lived with relatives in Cape Town
after her mother remarried and moved to Rhodesia
.
and Australia
before settling in Southampton, England. Frederick died in 1977.
On 15 April 1995, Edith was present with fellow Titanic survivor, Eva Hart
, aged 90, at the opening of a memorial garden at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, London where a granite monument commemorating the 83rd anniversary of Titanic's sinking was erected.
In August 1996, at the age of 99, Edith joined fellow survivors Michel Marcel Navratil
and Eleanor Shuman
on a cruise to the location of Titanic's wreck where attempts were made to bring a large portion of the ship's hull to the surface. Before leaving the site, Edith threw a rose into the Atlantic Ocean
where her father had died 84 years earlier.
nursing home at the age of 100. By her bed in the nursing home stood a photograph of her father in a straw boater, stiff collar and bowtie.
Edith remains one of the longest-lived Titanic survivors. Mary Davies Wilburn
holds the record having died in 1987 at the age of 104.
Early life
Edith Eileen Brown was born on 27 October 1896 in Cape ColonyCape Colony
The Cape Colony, part of modern South Africa, was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652, with the founding of Cape Town. It was subsequently occupied by the British in 1795 when the Netherlands were occupied by revolutionary France, so that the French revolutionaries could not take...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
(under British rule) to Thomas William Solomon Brown and Elizabeth Catherine Ford. Thomas owned and operated a hotel in Cape Town, South Africa.
Aboard Titanic
Edith was 15 years old when she and her parents boarded the RMS Titanic in Southampton, England as second-class passengers. Edith's father was taking the family to Seattle, Washington where he was going to open a hotel business. Titanic's hold contained tableware, furnishings, and 1,000 rolls of bed linen for the intended hotel.Edith remembered clearly when RMS Titanic struck the iceberg at 11:40 p.m. on 14 April 1912. In a series of interviews in her later years and a biography, A Lifetime on the Titanic, published in 1995, Mrs. Haisman gave a vivid account of the ship's final moments, although some details have been called into question.
Father appeared a few minutes later. He told us, 'You'd better put on your life jackets and something warm, it's cold on deck. It's just a precaution. We've struck an iceberg, it's nothing much. The steward in the corridor says it's nothing to worry about.' We waited for ages on the boat deck for someone to tell us what to do. The ship's band was playing ragtime. They played to keep our spirits up. Everybody kept saying: 'She's unsinkable. She won't go down. Father kissed us and saw us into Lifeboat 14. Up to fifty people got in as it swung perilously over the side. One man jumped into the boat dressed as a woman. As we rowed away from the ship, we could still hear the band playing, but now it was hymns. We were almost six hours in the lifeboat and during that time we had no water and nothing to eat. I kept wondering if my father had got off the ship, that's all I could think of. -1995
Edith's father did not survive the sinking and his body, if recovered, was never identified. Edith's last memory of her father was that he was dressed in an Edwardian dinner jacket while smoking a cigar and sipping brandy on Titanic's deck as Edith and her mother were being lowered in the lifeboat. Upon arrival in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Edith and her mother stayed at the Junior League House before traveling to Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
to live with Edith's aunt, Josephine Acton. Edith and her mother soon returned to South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
where Edith lived with relatives in Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
after her mother remarried and moved to Rhodesia
Rhodesia
Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
.
Marriage and children
In May 1917, Edith met Frederick Thankful Haisman and the two were married six weeks later on 30 June. Their first child, a son, was born in August 1918, and would be followed by nine more children. Edith and her husband lived in South AfricaSouth Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
before settling in Southampton, England. Frederick died in 1977.
Later life
Edith's popularity as an RMS Titanic survivor grew as she aged. In 1993, she took part in a ceremony in Southampton, England where she received a gold watch thought to be her father's which had been recovered from a 1987 expedition of Titanic's wreckage. R.M.S. Titanic, Inc., which at the time held the rights to Titanic wreckage, had the watch attached to a sterling silver plate inscribed with the words, What better use for scientific technology than to reunite a father with his child".On 15 April 1995, Edith was present with fellow Titanic survivor, Eva Hart
Eva Hart
Eva Miriam Hart MBE was a survivor of the sinking of the RMS Titanic on April 15, 1912.-Early life:Eva Miriam Hart was born on 31 January , 1905 in Ilford, Essex, England to Benjamin Hart and Esther Bloomfield...
, aged 90, at the opening of a memorial garden at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, London where a granite monument commemorating the 83rd anniversary of Titanic's sinking was erected.
In August 1996, at the age of 99, Edith joined fellow survivors Michel Marcel Navratil
Michel Marcel Navratil
Michel Marcel Navratil, Jr. , was one of the last survivors of the sinking of the RMS Titanic on April 15, 1912. Michel, along with his brother, Edmond Navratil , were known as the Titanic Orphans, having been the only children rescued without a parent or guardian...
and Eleanor Shuman
Eleanor Ileen Johnson
Eleanor Ileen Johnson Shuman was one of the last remaining survivors of the sinking of the RMS Titanic on April 15, 1912.-Early life:...
on a cruise to the location of Titanic's wreck where attempts were made to bring a large portion of the ship's hull to the surface. Before leaving the site, Edith threw a rose into the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
where her father had died 84 years earlier.
Death
Edith died on 20 January 1997 in a SouthamptonSouthampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
nursing home at the age of 100. By her bed in the nursing home stood a photograph of her father in a straw boater, stiff collar and bowtie.
Edith remains one of the longest-lived Titanic survivors. Mary Davies Wilburn
Mary Davies Wilburn
Mary Wilburn was the longest-lived survivor of the sinking of the RMS Titanic on April 15, 1912.-Aboard Titanic:...
holds the record having died in 1987 at the age of 104.