Thomas Andrews

The largest, most luxurious ship in the world has grazed an iceberg in the mid-Atlantic on her maiden voyage to New York.

Thomas Andrews, the ship's designer, having conducted an inspection of the damage below deck, delivers his report to the captain.

In little over two hours, the ship will sink.

The captain's actions over the coming hours have been scrutinized ever since, as the most notorious maritime disaster in history is about to unfold.

As this happened, the ship began to flood and sink, slowly at first, then faster.

Instead, it was going down.

Smith realized this quite quickly as Thomas Andrews, the managing director of the ship's builders Harland and Wolfe, and the ship's naval architect or designer, who was on board the vessel on her maiden voyage, had conducted an appraisal of the damage below deck after the collision and eventually came to the horrendous conclusion that the ship was doomed.

White flare distress rockets were set off minutes later.

We have chosen death.

Them, Andrews, the

person who built the Titanic.

The architect, whatever.

Then don't say it.

Okay, I won't say it.

Can we agree? Andrews, though, best dude on the ship.

Is he the best? The guy from Alias? No, the guy that...

The Titanic began its life in the steel-clad hands of Harland and Wolff's workers in Belfast, a city that by 1910 was already beating the world at shipbuilding.

Thomas Andrews, chief naval architect, sketched a vessel that would dwarf any contemporary liner with three massive propellers and a double-stacked superstructure.

Construction moved between massive gantry cranes, Samson and Goliath, that now dominate the Belfast skyline as a testament to the shipyard's scale.

By mid-1911, the hull was launched from Thompson Graving Dock in a ceremony that drew thousands of spectators hoping for a miracle.

So basically Captain Smith, he comes back from his cabin, he comes back on deck.

He sort of takes charge, and he sends Thomas Andrews, who's the designer of Titanic, who because it's the maiden voyage, is there for sort of quality control.

He's mainly been, like, fixing, uh, coat hooks and things like that, you know.

He's [laughs] he's going around talking to the passengers saying, you know-

The Confraternity passed through many years coming a long way from the day in 1897 when Mary Hodges and Bridget Quinn had queued to sign their names in its first register near the special icon of the Holy Virgin, Blessed in Rome.

Chapter 9, our final tale, A Party with Thomas Andrews.

Nine years before he acquired historical immortality by drowning on the Titanic, a ship he had helped design, 29-year-old Thomas Andrews Jr. flung open the doors to his apartment on Wellington Place, Belfast, to welcome in friends and family for a party.

If anyone very familiar with Belfast City Centre is interested, it was number 11, so Andrews rented the house next to what I think is now the Warhammer store.

I'm not sure what the building at number 11 is called off the top of my head, but it's basically directly opposite Sticks and Stones.

But I don't know that.

I can tell you that from reading this, he definitely was in the ascendancy.

because the next few sentences of this man writing about Thomas Andrews, his name is Sean Bullock, are basically, tell me you're in the ascendancy without telling me you're in the ascendancy.

End of Theory and Practice in Government Reform by Wilhelm von Humboldt, 1767-1835

Chapters 5 through 7 of Thomas Andrews, Shipbuilder by Sean F. Bullock.

This is a LibriVox recording.

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Then back to his stateroom where apparently he changed into working clothes and sat down to write.

He was still writing, it would seem, when the captain called him.

End of chapters 5 through 7 of Thomas Andrews, Shipbuilder by Sean F. Bullock

Celebrated Travelers Before the Christian Era By Jules Verne Translated by Dora Lee From Celebrated Travels and Travelers Part 1 The Exploration of the World This is a LibriVox recording.

End of Theory and Practice in Government Reform by Wilhelm von Humboldt, 1767-1835

Chapters 5 through 7 of Thomas Andrews' Shipbuilder by Sean F. Bullock This is a LibriVox recording.

All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.

For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Read by Chad Horner from Ballyclare in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, situated in the northeast of the island of Ireland.

An hour or two afterwards he went aft to thank the baker for some special bread he had made for him then back to his stateroom where apparently he changed into working clothes and sat down to write.

He was still writing it would seem when the captain called him.

End of chapters 5 through 7 of Thomas Andrews Shipbuilder by Sean F. Bullock

Celebrated Travelers Before the Christian Era By Jules Verne Translated by Dora Lee From Celebrated Travels and Travelers Part 1 The Exploration of the World This is a LibriVox recording.