Edward Smith ( sea captain ) Personal life . Edward John Smith was born on 27 January 1850 on Well Street , Hanley , Staffordshire , England to Edward Smith , a potter , and Catherine Hancock , born Marsh , who married on 2 August 1841 in Shelton , Staffordshire . His parents later owned a shop . Smith attended the Etruria British School until the age of 13 , when he left and operated a steam hammer at the Etruria Forge . In 1867 , aged 17 he went to Liverpool in the footsteps of his half - brother Joseph Hancock , a captain on a sailing ship . He began his apprenticeship on " Senator Weber " , owned by A Gibson & Co . of Liverpool . On 13 January 1887 , Smith married Sarah Eleanor Pennington at St Oswald ' s Church , Winwick , Cheshire . Their daughter , Helen Melville Smith , was born in Waterloo , Liverpool on 2 April 1898 . The family lived in an imposing red brick , twin - gabled house , named " Woodhead " , on Winn Road , Highfield , Southampton . Career . Early commands . Edward Smith joined the White Star Line in March 1880 as the Fourth Officer of . He served aboard the company ' s liners to Australia and to New York City , where he quickly rose in status . In 1887 , he received his first White Star command , the . In 1888 , Smith earned his Extra Master ' s Certificate and joined the Royal Naval Reserve ( thus entitling him to append his name with " RNR " ) , qualifying as a full Lieutenant . This meant that in a time of war , he could be called upon to serve in the Royal Navy . Later , as he was a commander in the Royal Naval Reserve , Smith ' s ship had the distinction of being able to fly the Blue Ensign of the RNR ; British merchant vessels generally flew the Red Ensign . Bigger commands . Smith was s captain for nine years commencing in 1895 . When the Boer War started in 1899 , " Majestic " was called upon to transport troops to Cape Colony . Smith made two trips to South Africa , both without incident , and for his service , King Edward VII awarded him the Transport Medal , showing the " South Africa " clasp , in 1903 . Smith was regarded as a " safe captain " . As he rose in seniority , he gained a reputation amongst passengers and crew for quiet flamboyance . Some passengers would sail the $ 3 only in a ship he captained . He became known as the " Millionaires ' Captain " because England ' s upper class usually chose to sail on ships that he commanded . From 1904 on , Smith commanded the White Star Line ' s newest ships on their maiden voyages . In 1904 , he was given command of the then - largest ship in the world , the . Her maiden voyage from Liverpool to New York , sailing 29 June 1904 , went without incident . After three years with " Baltic " , Smith was given his second new " big ship , " the . Once again , the maiden voyage went without incident . During his command of " Adriatic " , Smith received the long service Decoration for Officers of the Royal Naval Reserve ( RD ) along with a promotion to Commander . " Olympic " class command . As one of the world ' s most experienced sea captains , Smith was called upon to take first command of the lead ship in a new class of ocean liners , the – again , the largest vessel in the world at that time . The maiden voyage from Southampton to New York was successfully concluded on 21 June 1911 , but as the ship was docking in New York harbour , a small incident took place . Docking at Pier 59 under the command of Captain Smith with the assistance of a harbour pilot , " Olympic " was being assisted by twelve tugs when one got caught in the backwash of " Olympic " , spun around , collided with the bigger ship , and for a moment was trapped under " Olympic " s stern , finally managing to work free and limp to the docks . The " Hawke " incident . On 20 September 1911 , " Olympic " s first major mishap occurred during a collision with a British warship , , in which the warship lost her prow . Although the collision left two of " Olympic " s compartments filled and one of her propeller shafts twisted , she was able to limp back to Southampton . At the resultant inquiry , the Royal Navy blamed " Olympic " for the incident , alleging that her massive size generated a suction that pulled " Hawke " into her side . Captain Smith had been on the bridge during the events . The " Hawke " incident was a financial disaster for White Star , and the out - of - service time for the big liner made matters worse . " Olympic " returned to Belfast and , to speed up the repairs , Harland and Wolff was forced to delay " Titanic " s completion , in order to use one of her propeller shafts and other parts for " Olympic " . Back at sea in February 1912 , " Olympic " lost a propeller blade and once again returned to her builder for emergency repairs . To get her back to service immediately , Harland and Wolff again had to pull resources from " Titanic " , delaying her maiden voyage from 20 March to 10 April . RMS " Titanic " . Despite the past trouble , Smith was again appointed to be in command of the newest ship in the Olympic class when the RMS " Titanic " left Southampton for her maiden voyage . Although some sources state that he had decided to retire after completing " Titanic " s maiden voyage , an article in the Halifax " Morning Chronicle " on 9 April 1912 stated that Smith would remain in charge of " Titanic " " until the Company ( White Star Line ) completed a larger and finer steamer . " On 10 April 1912 , Smith , wearing a bowler hat and a long overcoat , took a taxi from his home to Southampton docks . He came aboard " Titanic " at 7 am to prepare for the Board of Trade muster at 8 : 00 am . He immediately went to his cabin to get the sailing report from Chief Officer Henry Wilde . After departure at noon , the huge amount of water displaced by " Titanic " as she passed caused the laid - up " New York " to break from her moorings and swing towards " Titanic . " Quick action from Smith helped to avert a premature end to the maiden voyage . The first four days of the voyage passed without incident , but shortly after 11 : 40 pm on 14 April Smith was informed by First Officer William Murdoch that the ship had just collided with an iceberg . It was soon apparent that the ship was seriously damaged ; designer Thomas Andrews reported that five of her watertight compartments had been breached and that " Titanic " would sink in under two hours . During the evacuation , Captain Smith failed to manage and coordinate the evacuation effort , and gave ambiguous and impractical orders ( an hour after the collision , Fourth Officer Joseph Boxhall was still unaware that the ship would sink ) . Smith perished that night along with around 1 , 500 others , and his body was never recovered . At 2 : 10 am , ten minutes before the final sinking , Second officer Charles Lightoller saw Smith walking towards the bridge , before it was engulfed by the sea There are conflicting accounts of Smith ' s final fate . Second officer Charles Lightoller last saw Smith walking across the bridge . Some survivors said Smith quietly wandered off towards the bridge at 2 : 10 am , ten minutes before the final sinking , locked himself inside the ship ' s wheelhouse , and died clinging to the ship ’ s wheel when the wheelhouse windows broke due to the pressure . Robert Williams Daniel , a first class passenger who jumped from the stern immediately before the ship sank , told the " New York Herald " in its April 19 , 1912 edition how he had witnessed Captain Smith drown in the ship ' s wheelhouse . " " I saw Captain Smith on the bridge . My eyes seemingly clung to him . The deck from which I had leapt was immersed . The water had risen slowly , and was now to the floor of the bridge . Then it was to Captain Smith ' s waist . I saw him no more . He died a hero . " " These accounts ( although the accounts by Daniel may be apocryphal ) are supported by Robert Ballard ' s book " The Discovery of the Titanic " , and some " Titanic " historians and has remained the iconic image which has remained of Smith . Later when working to free Collapsible B , however , Junior Marconi Officer Harold Bride reported seeing Smith dive into the sea from the starboard side of the bridge just as the water began flooding the open bridge , a story which was corroborated by first class passenger Mrs . Eleanor Widener , who was in Lifeboat # 4 ( the closest to the sinking ship ) at the time . It has been affirmed that the man who Bride and Mrs . Widener saw jump from the bridge may have been Sixth Officer James Moody , who was seen jumping at this time , but it could seem unlikely that Bride , who knew both Moody and Smith , would have mistaken the officer ' s identity . Also second class passenger William John Mellors and fireman Harry Senior , who both survived aboard collapsible B , stated that Smith jumped from the bridge . Accounts of Smith carrying a child to a lifeboat ( possibly the overturned collapsible B ) after the sinking before swimming towards his sinking ship or freezing in the water are almost certainly apocryphal , according to historians featured in the A & E Documentary " " . However , several survivor reports may suggest that Smith was actually able to swim over to collapsible B before to die from hypothermia . Jack Thayer , a first class passenger who survived aboard collapsible B , late reported that “ " questions and answers were called around — who was on board , and who was lost , or what they had been seen doing ? One call that came around was , “ Is the chief aboard ? ” Whether they meant Mr . Wilde , the chief officer , or the chief engineer , or Capt . Smith , I do not know . I do know that one of the circular life rings from the bridge was there when we got off in the morning . It may be that Capt . Smith was on board with us for a while . Nobody knew where the “ Chief ” was " ” . Colonel Archibald Gracie reported that an unknown swimmer came near the capsized and overcrowded lifeboat , and that one of the men on board told him " Hold on to what you have , old boy . One more of you aboard would sink us all , " ; in a powerful voice , the swimmer replied " All right boys . Good luck and God bless you . " . Gracie did not see this man , nor was able to identify him , but some other survivors later claimed to have recognized this man as Smith . Another man ( or possibly the same ) never asked to come aboard the boat , but instead cheered its occupants saying “ Good boys ! Good lads ! ” with “ the voice of authority ” . One of the collapsible B survivors , fireman Walter Hurst , tried to reach him with an oar , but by this time the man was floating dead . Hurst said he was certain this man was Smith . Captain Smith ' s fate will probably remain uncertain . There are also conflicting accounts of Smith ' s last words . Reports said that as the final plunge began , Smith shouted to his crew " " Be British boys , be British ! " " Although this is engraved on his memorial and portrayed in the 1996 TV miniseries , it was likely a myth made up by the British press at the time , as not one member of the surviving crew claimed he said anything like this . James McGann said that as water began to flood the bridge , Smith ' s last words were " " ' Well boys , you ' ve done your duty and done it well . I ask no more of you . I release you . You know the rule of the sea . It ' s every man for himself now , and God bless you . " " Legacy . A statue , sculpted by Kathleen Scott , wife of Antarctic explorer Robert Falcon Scott , was unveiled in July 1914 at the western end of the Museum Gardens in Beacon Park , Lichfield . The pedestal is made from Cornish granite and the figure is bronze . Lichfield was chosen as the location for the monument because Smith was a Staffordshire man and Lichfield was the centre of the diocese . The statue originally cost £740 raised through local and national contributions . The plaque below his memorial statue states ; In 2010 , as part of the ' Parks for People ' programme , the statue was restored and the green patina removed from its surface at a cost of £16 , 000 . In 2011 an unsuccessful campaign was started to get the statue moved back to Captain Smith ' s home town of Hanley . Smith had already been commemorated in Hanley ' s Town Hall with a plaque reading : The plaque was removed in 1961 , given to a local school and then returned to the Town Hall but remounted in the interior of the building in 1978 . Family . His family gradually faded from the limelight . Smith ’ s half - sister Thyrza died in 1921 and his widow , Sarah Eleanor Smith , was hit and killed by a taxi in London in 1931 . Their daughter , Helen Melville , married and gave birth to twins , Simon and Priscilla . Simon , a pilot in the Royal Air Force , was killed in World War II . Priscilla died from polio three years later ; neither of them had children . Helen died in 1973 .