George Washington Vanderbilt II was one of the notable people who was supposed to sail on the maiden voyage of the Titanic. He was the heir to the Vanderbilt fortune, amassed from railroads, steamboats, and other businesses. He canceled his trip after his mother-in-law vehemently objected to their plans, citing the dangers of maiden voyages.
He had already sent for his luggage aboard the Titanic through his footman, Frederick Wheeler. Although their tickets were already paid for, George W. Vanderbilt II and his wife transferred to the Olympic and arrived in New York before the Titanic sank. Their footman never made it through the accident.
A Ticket for the Titanic Is Still Expensive
Shipwrecks beckon our imaginations to their veiled dark mysteries, curtains where the story of their tragic pasts replay their final reel. Curiosity is borne through the years by pop culture works such as films and books, and the mystique surrounding the Titanic’s demise had never left us.
Very few know that it is now possible to view the shipwreck on the sea bed, more than 12,000 feet below the surface. The operations are handled by a company called Deep Ocean Expeditions, and anyone may examine the ship in its final resting place for $59,000 per person.
There Might Be a Titanic II
For many years there had been proposals to build a replica of the Titanic. In 2006, a project was started by a South African businessman, Sarel Gaus, but he abandoned it. Another businessman, Clive Palmer, an Australian who has iron ore, coal, and nickel holdings, then planned to take on the project and name it Titanic II.
This was intended to be a fully functional replica of the oceanic liner, with a proposed budget of $500 million. Due to financial disputes, it had been moved from the initial 2016 date target to 2018, and again to a later date.
Theodore Dreiser Nearly Met Disaster
Theodore Dreiser was an American journalist and novelist. His best-known novels are "American Tragedy" and "Sister Carrie". He was on his first European vacation and had planned on taking the opportunity to sail via the Titanic to return to America, but canceled his plans at the urging of his publisher.
The latter wanted him to take a less expensive means of traveling, and he complied. After he had learned of the tragedy, Dreiser wrote, “To think of a ship as immense as the Titanic, new and bright, sinking in endless fathoms of water. And the two thousand passengers routed like rats from their berths only to float helplessly in miles of water, praying and crying!”
Henry Clay Frick Was Saved by a Sprained Ankle
The maiden voyage of the Titanic had many opulent personalities onboard its first-class accommodations and Henry Clay Frick, an American industrialist, who financed the construction of the Pennsylvania railroad, had full intentions of taking that fateful trip.
The American steel tycoon had to cancel his plans with his wife just a few days before the schedule after the latter accidentally sprained her ankle. Realizing she wouldn’t enjoy their vacation with an injury, he called off their plans for her to rest.