caption death_date death_place birth_place name birth_date image article_title birth_name occupation
joseph prior to their voyage on the '' titanic '' -lrb- seated right -rrb- and his family , 15 april 1912 atlantic ocean cap-haïtien , haiti joseph philippe lemercier laroche and family 26 may 1886 josephlaroche.jpg joseph philippe lemercier laroche
 joseph philippe lemercier laroche engineer
joseph philippe lemercier laroche

joseph philippe lemercier laroche -lrb- 26 may 1886 -- 15 april 1912 -rrb- was a paris-educated haitian engineer .
he was the only passenger of known african ancestry on the ill-fated voyage of the .
he put his pregnant french wife and their two daughters onto a lifeboat ; they survived , but he did not .
joseph 's daughter , louise laroche -lrb- 2 july 1910 -- 28 january 1998 -rrb- was one of the last remaining survivors of the sinking of the rms `` titanic '' on april 15 , 1912 .
`` laroche '' , a three-act opera by atlanta composer sharon j. willis is based on his life and was part of the 2003 national black arts festival , premiering at the callanwolde fine arts center on july 18 of that year .
