Charged For Brother’s Remains, Victory For Poor Irish Farmer
How class distinctions affected life and death on the Titanic
Anyone who has seen the movie Titanic has some idea of the ways in which different classes of people were treated. First class accommodations were luxurious. Second class spaces were still fairly spacious, with abundant public gathering places. Third class passengers had more spartan facilities, but at least were given meals by the White Star Line. Some companies forced steerage passengers to bring their own food.
However, most of the crew had worse conditions than even the steerage passengers, jammed into rooms called “Glory Holes”. The stewards, stewardesses, and officers had better accommodations, however. Even among the staff, the class system defined what comforts someone received.
Where these class distinctions really mattered was in survival rates:
- First class passengers survival rate: 62%
- Second class passengers: 41%
- Third class passengers: 25%
- Women’s survival rate: 75%
- Children’s survival rate: 50%
- Men’s survival rate: 20%
A first-class woman had a 97% chance of surviving while a third-class man only had…
