Titanic's hero

The Carpathia departed from New York City bound for Fiume, Austria-Hungary (now Rijeka, Croatia). On board were around 240 crew members, including a significant number of Croatian sailors, and 743 passengers across all classes. Among the notable passengers were American painters Colin Campbell Cooper and his wife, as well as journalist Carlos Fayette Hurd and his wife, who later wrote about the Titanic disaster. Several prominent figures were aboard, some of whom had relatives on the ill-fated Titanic.

On the night of April 14, 1912, Harold Cottam, the wireless operator of the Carpathia, received the Titanic's distress signal shortly after midnight. Despite initial skepticism from the bridge officers, Cottam alerted Captain Arthur Rostron, who immediately ordered the ship to turn around and head towards the Titanic. Rostron cut off non-essential steam usage and prepared the ship to assist survivors. The Carpathia arrived at the site around 4:00 a.m., rescuing 705 survivors from lifeboats over the next several hours.

After considering various options, Captain Arthur Rostron of the RMS Carpathia decided to disembark the Titanic survivors in New York, the original destination of the ill-fated liner. As news of the disaster spread, the Carpathia became a focal point for intense media interest. Wireless messages flooded in, but Rostron deferred media communication to White Star Line offices. Escorted by the USS Chester, Carpathia arrived in New York, where Titanic’s lifeboats were offloaded at Pier 59 before the survivors were disembarked at Pier 54.