Mary Davies Wilburn
| Mary Davies Wilburn | |
|---|---|
| Born |
May 17, 1883 London, England |
| Died |
July 29, 1987 (aged 104) Syracuse, New York |
Mary Wilburn (née Davies) (May 17, 1883 – July 29, 1987) was the longest-lived survivor of the sinking of the RMS Titanic on April 15, 1912.
Aboard Titanic
Born in London, England on May 17, 1883, Mary Davies Wilburn boarded the RMS Titanic at Southampton, England as a second-class passenger and was travelling to visit her sister, E.F. Langford, on Staten Island, New York.
Mary Davis was asleep in her cabin when the collision occurred. She was awakened and told that there was no danger; so she returned to bed, only to be called again in a few minutes and told to get up on the highest deck, that the boat was sinking. She hurriedly dressed and then helped Lucy Ridsdale, her cabin companion, who was in the lower berth to get dressed; she was afflicted by a club foot. The two women then made their way to the boatdeck.
Two men assisted her into lifeboat 13 and it was lowered. She remembered that the weather was clear, water calm, and a beautiful full moon lit the entire ocean for miles around. She stated that there was very little suction as the boat sank.
Mary said that it was early in the morning when the Carpathia hove in sight and pulled them aboard. She was numbed from the waist down and practically unconscious from exhaustion and cold.
Life after Titanic
Mary returned to England a few months following the disaster when the White Star Line, the company which owned the Titanic, offered her a free fare.[1] She returned to the United States in 1913 where she worked as a cook. In 1915 she married John A. Wilburn, by whom she had a son, Carl. John died in 1972 and Carl died in 1994.
Death
Mary died on July 29, 1987 in Syracuse, New York at age 104. She was the longest-lived RMS Titanic survivor, and one of only about 30 that were alive when the Titanic's wreckage was discovered in 1985.
References
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| Honorary titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Frederick Dent Ray |
Oldest living survivor of the RMS Titanic January 15, 1977 – July 29, 1987 |
Succeeded by Marjorie Newell Robb |
| Longest lived survivor of the RMS Titanic | Incumbent | |
