Thomas Andrews Popular Books
Thomas Andrews Biography & Facts
Thomas Andrews Jr. (7 February 1873 – 15 April 1912) was a British businessman and shipbuilder. He was managing director and head of the drafting department of the shipbuilding company Harland and Wolff in Belfast, Ireland. He was the naval architect in charge of the plans for the ocean liner Titanic and perished along with more than 1,500 others when the ship sank during her maiden voyage. Early life Thomas Andrews was born on 7 February 1873 at Ardara House, Comber, County Down, in Ireland, to The Rt. Hon. Thomas Andrews, a member of the Privy Council of Ireland, and Eliza Pirrie. Andrews was a Presbyterian of Scottish descent, and like his brother considered himself British. His siblings included J. M. Andrews, the future Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, and Sir James Andrews, the future Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland. Thomas Andrews lived with his family in Ardara, Comber. In 1884, he began attending the Royal Belfast Academical Institution until 1889 when, at the age of sixteen, he began a premium apprenticeship at Harland and Wolff where his uncle, the Viscount Pirrie, was part owner. Harland and Wolff At Harland and Wolff, Andrews began with three months in the joiners' shop, followed by a month in the cabinetmakers' and then a further two months working on the ships. The last eighteen months of his five-year apprenticeship were spent in the drawing office. He worked during the day and continued his studies in the evening hours. In 1901, boarding at 11 Wellington Place, after working in the many departments of the company, he became the manager of the construction works. That same year, he also became a member of the Institution of Naval Architects. In 1907, he was appointed the managing director and head of the drafting department at Harland and Wolff. By that point, Andrews had earned a reputation as a genius in the field of ship design. During his long years of apprenticeship, study, and work, he had become well-loved in the company and amongst the shipyard's employees. His kindness and generosity was well-documented. He was always willing to acknowledge the hard work of other people, and his wife recalled that he had of himself "the humblest opinion of anyone I ever knew."On 24 June 1908, he married Helen Reilly Barbour, daughter of textile industrialist John Doherty Barbour and sister to Sir John Milne Barbour- known as "Milne". Their daughter, Elizabeth Law-Barbour Andrews (known by her initials, "ELBA"), was born on 27 November 1910. The couple lived at Dunallan, 12 Windsor Avenue, Belfast, now numbered 20, and worshipped at First Presbyterian Church on Rosemary Street. It is known that Andrews took Helen to view the Titanic one night, shortly before Elizabeth was born. RMS Titanic In 1907, Andrews began to oversee the plans for three new ocean liners for the White Star Line: RMS Olympic, RMS Titanic and RMS (later HMHS) Britannic. All three ships were designed by Andrews, William Pirrie and general manager Alexander Carlisle to be the largest, safest and most luxurious ships at sea. Andrews also headed a group of Harland and Wolff workers called the guarantee group, who went on the maiden voyages of their ships in order to observe ship operations and spot any necessary improvements. Titanic was no exception, so Andrews and the rest of his Harland and Wolff group travelled from Belfast to Southampton on Titanic for the beginning of her maiden voyage on 10 April 1912. During the voyage, Andrews took notes on various improvements he felt were needed, primarily cosmetic changes to various facilities. However, on 14 April, Andrews remarked to a friend that Titanic was "as nearly perfect as human brains can make her." Death On 14 April at 11:40 PM, Titanic struck an iceberg on the ship's starboard side. Andrews was in his cabin, planning changes he wanted to make to the ship, and barely noticed the collision. Captain Edward J. Smith had Andrews summoned to help examine the damage. Andrews and Captain Smith discussed the damage to the ship shortly after the collision and toured the damaged section of the ship, receiving several reports of the vessel's damage. Andrews determined that the first five of the ship's sixteen watertight compartments were rapidly flooding, more than the four that the vessel was supposed to withstand. He relayed this information to Captain Smith, adding that in his opinion, the vessel had only about an hour before foundering. He also informed Smith of the severe shortage of lifeboats on board the ship. As the evacuation began, Andrews tirelessly searched staterooms telling the passengers to put on lifebelts and go up on deck. Many survivors testified to have met or spotted Andrews several times. Fully aware of the short time the ship had left and of the lack of lifeboat space for all passengers and crew, he continued to urge reluctant people into the lifeboats in the hope of filling them with as many people as possible. Titanic sank at 2:20 a.m, and Andrews perished along with more than 1,500 others. His body was never recovered. Andrews was reportedly last seen by John Stewart, a steward on the ship, after approximately 2:05 a.m. According to Stewart, Andrews was standing alone in the 1st-class smoking room with his arms folded, his lifebelt lying on a nearby table. Stewart asked him: "Aren't you going to have a try for it, Mr. Andrews?" Andrews did not answer or move, apparently in a state of shock. Walter Lord suggested that he was staring at a Norman Wilkinson painting over the fire place that depicted the entrance to Plymouth Sound, which Titanic had been expected to visit on her return voyage. This led to popular belief that Andrews may have made no attempt to escape and waited in the smoking room for the end.Although this has become one of the most famous stories of the Titanic disaster – published in the 1912 book (Thomas Andrews: Shipbuilder by Shan Bullock) and thereby perpetuated – there is circumstantial evidence to show that Stewart, in fact, left the ship in lifeboat No. 15 at approximately 1:40 a.m., half an hour before his reputed sighting of Andrews. In Thomas Andrews: Shipbuilder, Bullock claimed that Andrews likely stayed in the smoking room for some time to gather his thoughts, then continued assisting with the evacuation. Bullock even discussed several other very later sightings of Andrews after that moment. Another sighting of Andrews was around 2:00 a.m., where he was seen on the back of the boat deck. The crowd had begun to stir, but some women remained reluctant to leave the ship. To be heard and to draw attention to himself, Andrews waved his arms and called to them in a loud voice. This did not do anything, so he began frantically throwing deck chairs into the ocean for people to use as floatation devices. Bullock also said that Andrews was seen, carrying a lifebelt, possibly the same lifebelt that was lying on the table in the smoking room, heading to the bridge, perhaps in search of Cap.... Discover the Thomas Andrews popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Thomas Andrews books.
Best Seller Thomas Andrews Books of 2024
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Thomas Andrews
Shan F. BullockThomas Andrews is a Fiction Classic Book. For six generations the Andrews family has been prominent in the life of Comber: that historic and prospering village, near Strangford Lou...
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A Chronicle Of Comber
Desmond RainyThis book paints an intimate picture of Comber, County Down, home town of Thomas Andrews Junior, Shipbuilder, during the thirtynine years of his short but hugely influential life(1...
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This Royal Breed
Judith SaxtonA SAGA OF A YOUNG GIRL'S STRUGGLE FOR SURVIVAL ON THE ISLAND OF JERSEY DURING THE NAZI SECOND WORLD WAR OCCUPATION. After the death of Rochelle Dubois's parents, she is ado...
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Christmas at Lobster Bay
Annie RobertsonWhen Emma and Aidan decide to expand The Guesthouse at Lobster Bay by merging their two homes, Emma feels certain it's the project she needs to develop her flourishing retreat, and...
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The Crew
Margaret MayhewPerfect for fans of Katie Flynn and Donna Douglas, a saga full of the heartwrenching emotion and drama of World War II from bestselling author Margaret Mayhew.READERS ARE LOVING TH...
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Thomas Andrews, Shipbuilder, Second Ed.
Sir Horace PlunkettThis 1912 volume offers a memoir of the naval architect charged with overseeing the plans of Titanic.
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Principles of Microeconomics
Thomas AndrewsThis is a principles of microeconomics textbook designed for introductory business majors. The book covers material for market analysis. Unlike traditional texts, this book i...
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Sorted
Jackson BirdAn unflinching and endearing memoir from LGBTQ+ advocate Jackson Bird about how he finally sorted things out and came out as a transgender man.When Jackson Bird was twentyfive, he ...
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The Price Of Freedom
Mary Jane StaplesSouth London in the 1930s ...and Mrs Hilda Jones is fed up with her dull husband. She thought marrying would liven him up, but after twentyfive years he's just as boring as the day...
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Tee mit Mrs Dallimore
Erica James & Ulrike MorenoEine herzerwärmende Geschichte über die Liebe, falsche Entscheidungen und den Mut, dennoch nach dem richtigen Weg zu suchen. Lizzie hatte schon immer das Talent, das Unglück magisc...
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The New Testament for Everyone, Third Edition
N. T. WrightA Translation of the Good News for EveryoneIf the Bible cannot be understood by everyone, then it is not good news. But from the very first days of the church at Pentecost, the goo...
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The Ship of Dreams
Gareth RussellThis original and “meticulously researched retelling of history’s most infamous voyage” (Denise Kiernan, New York Times bestselling author) uses the sinking of the Titanic as a pri...
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Not Quite a Fairytale
Cee LiddyFor years, Evelyn, the hopeful realist, and John, the hopeless romantic, entertained each other with tales of one disastrous love affair after another. Then they fell out.From her ...
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The Other Side Of Paradise
Margaret MayhewFans of Katie Flynn, Rosamunde Pilcher and Dinah Jeffries will love this emotional and sweeping wartime romance set in Singapore from bestselling author Margaret Mayhew.READERS ARE...
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Thomas Andrews, Shipbuilder
Shan F. BullockWith centuries of literature, it's inevitable that some will fall through the cracks. We hunt down public domain works and restore them so they're not lost to the world. Who are w...
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The Little Ship
Margaret MayhewFrom bestselling author Margaret Mayhew, an emotional and gripping wartime saga, full of the tension and adventure of World War Two. Perfect for fans of Katie Flynn, Donna Douglas ...
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Rude Awakening
Pamela KyleAlison is a control freak. There's nothing she enjoys more than swanning around her palatial home giving orders to her wealthy but masochistic husband and delighting in his humilia...