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Quick Facts
- NAME: John B. Thayer
- OCCUPATION: Business Leader
- BIRTH DATE: c. April 21, 1862
- DEATH DATE: c. April 14, 1912
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Best Known For
An executive with the Pennsylvania Railroad, John B. Thayer was among the 1,500 people who died in the 1912 Titanic disaster and is remembered for his bravery.
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Play NowJohn B. Thayer. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 02:31, May 20, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/john-b-thayer-283830.
John B. Thayer. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/john-b-thayer-283830 [Accessed 20 May 2013].
"John B. Thayer." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 20 2013, 02:31 http://www.biography.com/people/john-b-thayer-283830.
"John B. Thayer," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/john-b-thayer-283830 [accessed May 20, 2013].
"John B. Thayer," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/john-b-thayer-283830 (accessed May 20, 2013).
John B. Thayer [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 20] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/john-b-thayer-283830.
John B. Thayer, http://www.biography.com/people/john-b-thayer-283830 (last visited May 20, 2013).
John B. Thayer. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/john-b-thayer-283830. Accessed May 20, 2013.
Synopsis
Profile
Businessman. An executive with the Pennsylvania Railroad, John B. Thayer was among the 1,500 people who perished in the Titanic disaster of 1912 and is remembered for his bravery. Before boarding the doomed vessel, he had been traveling in Europe with his wife Marian and their son, John B. ??Jack?? Thayer, Jr.
The Thayers got on the Titanic at Cherbourg, France, on April 10, 1912. Onboard, Thayer met with friend George Dunton Widener who ran his family??s thriving streetcar and railroad operations. On the night of April 14, the Thayers attended a private party in the ship??s a la carte restaurant thrown by Widener and his wife Eleanor. Other distinguished guests included the ship??s captain Edward J. Smith and Major Archibald Butt, an advisor to President William Taft.
Around 11:40 p.m. that night, the Titanic struck an iceberg. The ship was damaged and began to take on water. The Thayers and other passengers were told to put on life preservers, and the crew readied the lifeboats. Unprepared for such a situation, the Titanic did not have enough lifeboats for all of its passengers and crew. Thayer assisted with getting the women and children on the lifeboats, but he refused to get on one himself. Choosing to remain behind with George Widener, he put his wife on Lifeboat 4 with Madeleine Astor and Eleanor Widener. His son Jack Thayer managed to survive the ordeal by climbing on Collapsible Lifeboat B, which had been capsized while the crew tried to get it into the water. They were later rescued by the Carpathia, a ship that answered the Titanic??s distress call.
In addition to his wife and son, Thayer was survived by two daughters and another son. Less than two months after the disaster, Marian Thayer hosted Captain Arthur Henry Rostron of the Carpathia at a special luncheon at her family??s Philadelphia home. Several executives from the Pennsylvania Railroad and fellow Titanic widow Eleanor Widener were among the guests at the event.
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Titanic Passengers
View groupOn April 10, 1912, the RMS Titanic set sail from Southampton, England, carrying 2,207 passengers en route to New York. Unfortunately, the ship never made it to its final destination. After on colliding with an iceberg on the night of April 14, 1912, the ship sank in only a few hours.
From "the Unsinkable Molly Brown to the discovery of "the Unknown Child," explore some of the extraordinary stories of survival and tragedy—and view photos and videos—of those who boarded the Titanic.
Titanic Passengers 28 people in this group
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Famous People Who Died in Accidents 95 people in this group
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