"RMS Titanic" Disaster Victim, Naval Engineer. He was the designer of the "RMS Titanic," a British passenger ship, which sank on April 15, 1912. Born in Northern Ireland, he was the son of Right Hon. Thomas Andrews and Eliza Pirrie. His uncle was Lord Pirrie, the principal owner of Harland and Wolff, the builders of the "Titanic". Entering at age 16 as premium apprentice, he received on-the-job-training and eventually, became the managing director of Harland and Wolff. He was in charge of designing, and was familiar with every detail of the construction of the "Titanic". In 1901, he became a member of the Institution of Naval Architects, and expressed satisfaction with the new vessel in his final letter to his wife saying, "The Titanic is now about complete and will I think do the old Firm credit tomorrow when we sail." At age 39, he boarded with a complimentary ticket as a first-class passenger. Well-liked by everyone, he spent most of the ship's maiden journey making notes and helping the crew with minor difficulties as they got to know the new ship. The evening of the disaster, he had dinner with the ship's surgeon, Dr. O'Loughlin, then went to his cabin to study blueprints and collate his notes. He barely noticed the collision with an iceberg and was unaware of any problem until Captain Edward J. Smith sent a message requesting his immediate presence on the bridge. He was seen touring the forward part of the ship with Captain Smith, observing the mail room and squash court quickly filling with water. Back on the bridge, Andrews broke the news to Captain Smith that in view of the damage suffered, he did not expect the ship to stay afloat for more than two hours. His last moments were spent wandering the decks encouraging passengers to wear their lifebelts and to make their way to the boats. He was last seen staring into space by the painting in the first-class smoking room, having removed his life belt. He perished along with more than 1,500 other passengers. On June 24,1908, he married Helen Reilly Barbour and at the time of his death, the couple had a seventeen-month-old daughter. Although his body was never recovered, he has a cenotaph on his family's upright marker in Comber No-subscribing Presbyterian Church Cemetery and has a memorial in his hometown along with a hall named in his honor, which has been used most recently as a primary school. An Ulster History Circle blue plaque is located on his house in Windsor Avenue in Belfast. The "SS Nomadic," one of the three ships that Andrews designed for White Star Line, is his only surviving ship and is on display at the Titanic Quarter of the Belfast shipyard.