Titanic Disaster

Since word of the RMS Titanic's sinking on the night of April 14, 1912, the legend of this "unsinkable" trans-Atlantic liner has grown into mythology and has been immortalized in print, song, on screen and even the Broadway stage. The story of this White Star Line steamship and the loss of over 1500 passengers remains a fascinating and tragic story to this day. Of the 2,228 people on board, only 705 survived.

Attached is a letter from the Post Office Department dated April 1, 1912, addressed to Mr. O.S. Woody, assigning him as a mail clerk on board the Titanic.

Unfortunately, Mr. Woody did not survive the disaster.—Beverly Coward

Images:

Top: Courtesy of the National Postal Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Bottom: Courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution / National Museum of American History -Transportation.

Sources Consulted:

Voyage 15 Titanic International, Summer 1993 – Remembering Titanic's Postal Workers – HE6233 P85 1993 NPM

1912 Facts About Titanic, Lee W. Merideth – G530 T6M47, 1999 NPM

Titanic, A Postal Collection – HE6183 S49088, 1998 NPM

Related links:

Titanic's Mail, National Postal Museum

Posted aboard R.M.S. Titanic, National Postal Museum

Titanic Sank This Morning, Smithsonian Magazine

Titanic Life Vest, On the Water, National Museum of American History