J. Bruce Ismay

Joseph Bruce Ismay (; 12 December 1862 – 17 October 1937) was an English businessman and shipowner who was the chairman and managing director of the White Star Line, and President of the International Mercantile Marine Company until his retirement in 1913. Ismay took over the White Star Line after the death of his father Thomas Ismay in 1900. In 1904, he became one of the founders of the International Mercantile Marine Company, a maritime trust financed by J. P. Morgan. Under his direction, the White Star Line shifted their focus to comfort and size rather than speed. He was behind the creation of the Big Four-class, at the time the world's largest liners. After rival company Cunard put out the RMS Lusitania and RMS Mauretania, the largest and fastest ships in the world, Ismay green-lighted the building of the Olympic-class and ordered the building of three large liners with focus on comfort and safety. The first of these ships were the RMS Olympic and the RMS Titanic and Ismay made a point of joining both ships on their maiden voyages as a passenger. Consequently, he was aboard the Titanic when the ship had its fatal collision with an iceberg. Subsequently, he became the highest-ranking White Star official to survive the ship's sinking, taking his place on one of the last boats to be successfully launched, Collapsible Boat C.