TITANIC
FOOTNOTES
- ‘ON THE LARGEST SHIP IN THE WORLD AND REALY SHE IS A SIGHT… I JUST GOT ON BOARD AND SHE WILL SAILE IN A FEW MINUTES’ – one of Halifax’s leading citizens writes from on board the Titanic, which he had caught only at the last moment and in which he was to perish four days later. The story of George Wright, the reclusive millionaire and philanthropist, is one of the most intriguing – and poignant – of the many interwoven into the history – and mythology – of the disaster. Born into a prosperous farming family near Tufts Cove, Nova Scotia in 1849, Wright came upon the idea of issuing a business directory when visiting the US Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876; and went on to make a fortune publishing Wright’s World Business Directories and kindred works, in the course of which he travelled to Australia, China, Japan, London and New York. He returned to his native Halifax in 1896, and retired around 1900. The peculiar orthography of this letter may, perhaps, be attributed to some form of dyslexia, rather than lack of literacy (making any transcription uncertain).
Sailing to Europe in the autumn of 1911, he is thought to have learned of the impeding voyage of the Titanic while staying in Paris and made a last-minute booking, as is indicated by the fact that his name does not appear among the list of passengers distributed during the voyage. News of his death made headlines in his native city: ‘There is now no doubt that George Wright is among those who went down with the Titanic, heroically standing aside like the others to allow the women and children into the boats – themselves facing certain death. George Wright was a man of whom Halifax might well be proud and of whom those who knew him best are most proud… He was ever ready to help, and he helped quickly. His hand was always in his pocket. There was no philanthropy in this city to which he did not contribute if its wants were made known to him’ (The Chronicle Herald, 20 April 1912). On the day before he sailed he drew up the will for which he is now remembered: ‘George Wright made his will in the office of one of the best known solicitors in London, on the occasion of his last visit to the old country; indeed he executed the document the very day before he sailed on the ill-starred Titanic… The will is a splendid one, mindful equally of philanthropy, charity and the causes of reform that were so close to his heart, so bound up with his life, and of his relatives in this city and province and elsewhere in Canada. A notable feature of the will is the bequest of his beautiful residence on Young Avenue, one of the handsomest in Halifax, to be held in trust for the local council of women to be used, as expressed in the will, as a headquarters in carrying on their work and assisting in suppressing evils such as he had been writing about and trying to put down’ (ibid., 7 May 1912).
He remains to this day one of the most intriguing figures to have been caught up in the story of the Titanic: ‘Just before he boarded the Titanic to sail home, George Wright rewrote his will, giving away his grand Halifax mansion to a group of women. No one knows why. It’s simply part of the mystery surrounding the last few days of the millionaire bachelor, who had spent the winter in the south of France and is said to have purchased a ticket on the Titanic at the last moment. He was never seen on the ship deck. A shy man, he is believed to have stayed in his cabin. His name did not appear on a passenger list, although he is known to have boarded in Southampton. There are theories that he was such a heavy sleeper he slept through the disaster. Why else would the accomplished yachtsman not have helped out on the lifeboats?’ (Jane Taber, ‘Mysterious Haligonian lost on the Titanic made quiet exit’, The Globe and Mail, 13 April 2012).
