Stockton Rush facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Stockton Rush
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Rush in 2015
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| Born |
Richard Stockton Rush III
March 31, 1962 |
| Died | June 18, 2023 (aged 61) North Atlantic Ocean
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| Cause of death | Implosion of Titan submersible |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | Co-founder and CEO of OceanGate |
| Spouse(s) |
Wendy Weil
(m. 1986) |
| Children | 2 |
Richard Stockton Rush III (born March 31, 1962 – died June 18, 2023) was an American businessman. He was best known as the co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of OceanGate. This company explored the deep sea.
On June 18, 2023, Stockton Rush and four other people died. They were on OceanGate's submersible called Titan. The submersible was trying to visit the wreck of the Titanic in the North Atlantic. Sadly, the Titan broke apart due to extreme pressure, which is called an implosion.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Stockton Rush was born in San Francisco, California. He was the youngest of five children. His family had a long history in the United States. Through his father, he was a descendant of two people who signed the Declaration of Independence: Richard Stockton and Benjamin Rush.
As a child, Stockton Rush dreamed of becoming an astronaut. He wanted to be the first person on Mars. He was very interested in flying and exploring the ocean. He started scuba diving when he was 12 years old. By age 18, he became a commercial pilot.
He graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1980. In 1984, he earned a degree in aerospace engineering from Princeton University. Later, in 1989, he received a Master of Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley.
Career
After college, Rush worked briefly as an engineer for McDonnell Douglas, testing F-15 Eagle jets. He then worked in finance.
Stockton Rush loved scuba diving. In 2006, he took his first trip in a submarine. This made him very interested in exploring the ocean at deeper levels. He tried to buy his own submersible, but it was very hard to find one. There were fewer than 100 privately-owned submarines in the world.
Because he couldn't buy one, he built a small submersible himself. It was 12 feet long and could go down 30 feet. Even after building his own, he kept trying to buy a larger one.
Around 2007, Rush decided to start his own submarine company. He believed that many people would want to explore the underwater world. He thought it would be a great way to see the ocean without needing lots of scuba gear.
In 2009, Stockton Rush co-founded OceanGate with his business partner, Guillermo Söhnlein. Rush said the company's goal was to use tourism to help develop new deep-diving submersibles. These submersibles could then be used for other things, like finding resources or helping in disasters.
Rush felt that people thought underwater exploration was too dangerous. He believed this idea was wrong and that the actual risks were much lower than people thought. He also felt that some laws made it too hard to innovate in ocean exploration.
In 2018, Rush led an expedition near the San Juan Islands. He helped researchers study sea creatures like the red sea urchin. By 2023, Stockton Rush had made at least 13 trips to see the Titanic wreckage.
Titan Expedition and Death
Stockton Rush was on board the Titan submersible on June 18, 2023. This submersible was owned and designed by OceanGate, Inc.. They were going to view the Titanic wreckage. However, the Titan lost contact with its support ship, MV Polar Prince.
Many countries, including the United States, Canada, and France, started search-and-rescue missions. They used ships and planes to look for the submersible.
On June 22, search teams found debris about 1,600 feet (488 meters) from the front part of the Titanic. OceanGate announced that they believed Rush and the four other people on board had "sadly been lost." The United States Coast Guard later confirmed that the debris matched a catastrophic loss of the pressure hull. This means the submersible broke apart instantly due to the immense pressure of the deep ocean. Everyone on board died immediately.
Personality and Personal Life
In a 2022 interview, Stockton Rush talked about his views on safety. He believed that sometimes too much safety could stop new ideas. He said, "At some point, you're going to take some risk, and it really is a risk/reward question." He felt he could do things safely even if it meant trying new approaches.
Stockton Rush married Wendy Weil in 1986. They had two children. Wendy Weil Rush is a great-great-granddaughter of Isidor and Ida Blun Straus. They both died when the Titanic sank in 1912. Wendy Weil Rush is also the director of communications at OceanGate.
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