Thomson Beattie
Thomson Beattie (November 25, 1875 - April 15, 1912) was a RMS Titanic victim. It has been suggested that, with travel partners Thomas McCaffry and John Hugo Ross, he was one of the gay passengers aboard the Titanic.
Early life[edit]
Thomson Beattie was born on November 25, 1875, in Fergus, Ontario. He was the last of eleven children. His father, John Beattie,[1] was a private banker, and in 1871 became the Clerk of Wellington County.[2]
Career[edit]
At the death of his father in 1897, Beattie and one brother moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Beattie partnered with Richard Deans Waugh to open Haslam Land Co.[3][4] After five years Beattie bought a distinguished house at 560 River Ave., in an upscale neighbourhood, and shared it with Dr. Field, a medical doctor.[3] In 1911 Waugh became mayor of Winnipeg and Beattie ran their company alone.[2]
He was a prominent member of the Winnipeg Country Club and the Manitoba Club.[3]
Personal life[edit]
In 1897 he met Thomas Francis McCaffry, who would die with Beattie aboard the Titanic. They traveled together to the Aegean in 1908, and to North Africa in 1910. The 1912 visit to the Middle East and Europe, with the return aboard the Titanic, was to be their last.[5]
In 1912, Beattie, McCaffrey and John Hugo Ross, another Titanic victim, left aboard the RMS Franconia for a 4 month-long tour to the Middle East and Europe.[6] In February they were in Cairo and visited Luxor and Aswan. After Cairo they landed in Naples and Venice. They boarded the Titanic as first class passengers in Cherbourg. Beattie and McCaffry shared cabin C-6. Beattie managed to leave on the last available raft, Collapsible A, but died of exposure. McCaffrey didn't board. One month after the sinking, Beattie's body was found and buried at sea.[7][8][5]
His family commissioned a tombstone for the family plot in Fergus, Ontario.[2]
It has been suggested that Beattie and McCaffrey were a couple and Ross was gay as well.[9] According to Alan Hustak: "Beattie and McCaffry resembled each other, dressed alike, and were often mistaken for brothers. The Winnipeg Free Press remarked on how similar they were, and observed the two of them 'were almost inseparable.'"[10]
Legacy[edit]
A Bronze Tablet was erected in the Winnipeg City Hall to commemorate the city's Titanic victims: Mark Fortune, Charles A. Fortune, John Hugo Ross, Thomson Beattie, George A. Graham and J.J. Borebank. All Winnipeg men on board the Titanic died, while all Winnipeg women survived.[11]
References[edit]
- ↑ Thorning, Stephen. "A little known local survivor of the 1912 Titanic disaster". Retrieved 2 October 2017.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "1st Class Passengers » Mr Thomson Beattie". Retrieved 2 October 2017.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Thomson Beattie - 16 Apr 1912, Tue • Page 1". The Winnipeg Tribune: 1. 1912. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
- ↑ Bumsted, J. M. (1999). Dictionary of Manitoba Biography. University of Manitoba Press. Retrieved 2 October 2017. Search this book on
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "1st Class Passengers » Mr Thomas Francis McCaffry". Retrieved 29 September 2017.
- ↑ "Local Manager Titanic Passenger - 15 Apr 1912, Mon • Page 1". Vancouver Daily World: 1. 1912. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
- ↑ "Three Dead Bodies Afloat in Mid Ocean - 16 May 1912, Thu • Page 1". The Huntington Press: 1. 1912. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
- ↑ "The Titanic's last lifeboat: Amazing photos show vessel containing three rotting bodies - including a man still in his dinner jacket - which was found by passing liner a month later and 200 miles away". MailOnline. 2016. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
- ↑ Brewster, Hugh (2012). Gilded Lives, Fatal Voyage: The Titanic's First-Class Passengers and Their World. Crown/Archetype. p. 73. Retrieved 2 October 2017. Search this book on
- ↑ Hustak, Alan (1998). Titanic: The Canadian Story. Véhicule Press. p. 24. Retrieved 29 September 2017. Search this book on
- ↑ "Titanic Victims' Heroism is Told for Future Ages - 18 Dec 1912, Wed • Page 1". The Winnipeg Tribune: 1. 1912. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
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