{"id":18972,"date":"2012-12-05T15:59:26","date_gmt":"2012-12-05T21:59:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.drishtikone.com\/?p=18972"},"modified":"2012-12-05T15:59:26","modified_gmt":"2012-12-05T21:59:26","slug":"famous-people-who-missed-titanic-disaster-narrowly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/drishtikone\/2012\/12\/famous-people-who-missed-titanic-disaster-narrowly\/","title":{"rendered":"Famous people who missed Titanic disaster narrowly"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Guglielmo Marconi<\/strong> \u2013 the father of long distance radio transmission, developer of radio telegraph system and a Nobel Prize winner in Physics in 1909 was offered a free passage on Titanic which floated off on Wednesday 10\u00a0April 1912.\u00a0 But he had something to finish and needed to have a stenographer along with him.\u00a0 So, instead he took Lusitania<\/em> \u2013 just 3 days earlier.<\/p>\n

In those days Lusitania<\/em> would sail out of Liverpool while Titanic<\/em> was to sail out of Southampton.\u00a0 What is most interesting is that Marconi became a hero as his invention of wireless helped save many lives as it enabled the message of the disaster to be communicated and help was summoned .<\/p>\n

He dodged death again when he had just taken the voyage on Lusitania<\/em> in April 1915 \u2013 and the next time Lusitania<\/em> sailed in May, it was sunk by German U-boat!\u00a0 Quite a lucky guy.<\/p>\n

Another lucky guy who missed Titanic<\/em> was the founder of Hershey\u2019s chocolates Milton Snavely Hershey<\/strong>.\u00a0 He was spending his winters in France and was planning to travel back on Titanic in one of its state rooms.\u00a0 So, he actually paid 10% deposit ($300) to the White Star Line.\u00a0 However, an emergency at home in his company beckoned him and he also left earlier than scheduled!\u00a0 The $300 check still lies in the Hershey\u2019s Community archives.\u00a0 Interesting, the ship he was on German liner Amerika<\/em> was one of ships to have warned Titanic<\/em> of ice in its path, which were apparently ignored!<\/p>\n

One guy \u2013 Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt<\/strong> \u2013 who was the heir of the multi-million dollar Vanderbilt business empire was returning from his European trip and for some reason cancelled his trip at the very last moment.\u00a0 So late, it is said, that some papers even included his name in the missing people!\u00a0 Three years later, however, unlike Marconi, Lusitania<\/em> got him and he perished in that disaster.<\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n

How press got the story out \u2013 differing versions!<\/p>\n

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Related articles from External Sources<\/h6>\n