Millvina Dean facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Millvina Dean
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Dean in April 1999
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| Born |
Eliza Gladys Millvina Dean
2 February 1912 Branscombe, Devon, England
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| Died | 31 May 2009 (aged 97) Ashurst, Hampshire, England
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| Resting place | Cremated, ashes scattered in Southampton, Hampshire, United Kingdom |
| Occupation | Civil servant, cartographer |
| Known for | Youngest passenger aboard and last remaining survivor of the RMS Titanic |
Millvina Dean (born Eliza Gladys Dean on February 2, 1912 – died May 31, 2009) was a British woman known for a very special reason. She was the last person alive who had been on the RMS Titanic when it sank in 1912. She was also the youngest passenger on the ship, being only two months old!
Millvina worked as a civil servant and a cartographer, which means she made maps. Her life story is a powerful reminder of the famous Titanic disaster.
Contents
Millvina's Family Life
Millvina Dean was born in Branscombe, Devon, England, on February 2, 1912. Her parents were Bertram Frank Dean and Georgette Eva Light. She had an older brother named Bertram Vere Dean.
Millvina never married and did not have any children. Her father sadly died when the Titanic sank. Her mother lived until 1975, and her brother passed away in 1992.
Aboard the Titanic Ship
Millvina's family decided to leave the United Kingdom and move to the United States. They planned to settle in Wichita, Kansas, where her father had relatives.
They were not originally supposed to be on the Titanic. However, because of a coal strike, they were transferred to the famous ship. They boarded as third-class passengers in Southampton, England. Millvina was just nine weeks old at the time.
On the night of April 14, 1912, her father felt the ship hit an iceberg. He quickly checked what happened, then returned to their cabin. He told his wife to get the children dressed and go up on deck. Millvina, her mother, and her brother were put into Lifeboat 10. Sadly, her father did not survive the sinking.
Returning to the United Kingdom
After the Titanic sank, Millvina's mother, Etta Dean, decided not to stay in the United States. It was clear her husband had not been saved.
The White Star Line, the company that owned the Titanic, offered Etta and her children a free trip back to England. They sailed home on another ship called the RMS Adriatic. During the journey, baby Millvina attracted a lot of attention because of her connection to the Titanic tragedy.
Millvina's Later Years
Millvina Dean did not talk much about the Titanic until she was in her seventies. After that, she became very involved in events related to the ship. She attended many conventions, exhibitions, and gave interviews for documentaries, radio, and television.
In 1997, Millvina sailed to New York on the Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) with members of the Titanic Historical Society. She visited the house in Kansas City where her family had planned to live. She even met some of her uncle's descendants for the first time.
Millvina also traveled to the United States for Titanic conventions in 1998 and 1999. She was scheduled to appear at a special event in 2006, but a broken hip prevented her from attending. She also appeared in a History Channel TV special called Titanic's Final Moments: Missing Pieces.
Millvina always refused to watch James Cameron's famous 1997 film Titanic. She remembered having nightmares after seeing an older film, A Night to Remember (1958). She did not want to imagine her father among the people on the sinking ship. She also turned down invitations to the premieres of Titanic and Ghosts of the Abyss (2003).
In 2007, she also shared her thoughts about a Doctor Who episode. The episode featured a spaceship called the Titanic that looked like the real ship. Millvina felt it was disrespectful to use the name of such a tragedy for entertainment. She said, "The Titanic was a tragedy which tore so many families apart. I lost my father and he lies on that wreck. I think it is disrespectful to make entertainment of such a tragedy."
Health Challenges and Support
In April 2008, Millvina had to cancel an appearance at a Titanic anniversary event in Southampton due to a respiratory infection.
In December 2008, when she was 96 years old, Millvina had to sell some family items. This was to help pay for her private medical care after she broke her hip. She sold a letter sent to her mother from the Titanic Relief Fund and a suitcase given to her family in New York. These items raised about £32,000. In 2009, she announced she would sell more items because her nursing home costs were very high, over £3,000 a month.
Millvina's Passing
Millvina Dean passed away from pneumonia on May 31, 2009, at a care home in Ashurst, Hampshire. She was 97 years old.
She was cremated, and her ashes were scattered on October 24, 2009. This happened from a small boat at the docks in Southampton, the same place where the Titanic had set sail. Millvina had been the last living Titanic survivor since October 2007.
The Millvina Fund
To help with Millvina's rising care costs, "The Millvina Fund" was created in April 2009. This fund was set up by the Belfast, British, and International Titanic Societies. Its only goal was to pay for her nursing home bills.
The fund received a big boost from Irish author Don Mullan. He challenged the director and stars of the film Titanic (1997) – James Cameron, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Kate Winslet – and singer Celine Dion to donate. Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet gave a combined US$20,000. James Cameron and Celine Dion each donated US$10,000.
See also
In Spanish: Millvina Dean para niños
- Grace Hanagan, last survivor of the Empress of Ireland disaster
- Audrey Pearl, last survivor of the Lusitania sinking
- Adella Wotherspoon, last survivor of the General Slocum disaster
- Catherine Uhlmyer, longest-lived survivor of the General Slocum disaster
