Thomas Andrews, Shipbuilder

Thomas Andrews

“And so in his last hour we see this brave, strong, capable and lovable man displaying, not only heroism, but every quality which had exalted him in the regard of his fellows and endeared him to all who had worked and lived with him.” - Horace Plunkett, in his intro to Shan Bullock’s memorial text, Thomas Andrews, Shipbuilder (published late 1912).

Thomas Andrews (1873-1912), was a shipbuilder from Belfast, Ireland.

Andrews was born on February 7, 1873, in Comber, County Down, Ireland. While his father had aspirations for his son’s career, a young Mr. Andrews decided to pursue shipbuilding.

Beginning his apprenticeship at Harland and Wolff as a young teenager, he quickly climbed their ranks, becoming one of the company’s chief designers.

In 1908, the White Star Line commissioned Harland and Wolff to design and build three Olympic-class ships, which would later be known as the Olympic, the Titanic, and the Britannic. Andrews was the designer who was to oversee the construction of these ships.

The Olympic was the first ship completed, followed by the Titanic. As a member of Harland and Wolff’s “guarantee group,” Mr. Andrews typically sailed on the maiden voyages of ships he had designed, along with a few other members of Harland & Wolff. One of the reasons for this guarantee group was observe where the ship functioned sufficiently, and where there was room for improvement.

The maiden voyage of the Titanic was no exception to this rule, and Mr. Andrews boarded the ship in Belfast as a member of the guarantee group.

He was one of over 1500 people who lost their lives after the Titanic struck an iceberg at 11:40pm on April 14, 1912 and sank a mere two hours and forty minutes after.

However, over 100 years later, his memory lives on as one of the most heroic men associated with the Titanic.