The Titanic is the most famous shipwreck in American history, even though the ship was British and sank in international waters. A downstate Illinois resident was among the survivors.

Richard Becker, who lived in Jacksonville in the late 1930s and early 1940s, was among the 712 survivors of the Titanic, which smashed into an iceberg in the north Atlantic late on April 14, 1912. At the time, he was two months shy of his second birthday.

Due to his tender age, he had virtually no memories of that horrific night. But his sister, Ruth, became one of the most visible of the ship’s survivors late in life and was a frequent interview subject.

Becker was born on June 26, 1910, in Kondaikanal, India, where his father, a Lutheran minister, was serving as a missionary. The elder Becker and his wife also spent much time in Princeton, 55 miles east of the Quad Cities, before settling permanently in South Bend, Indiana. Richard was the fourth child, following sister Ruth, born in 1899; Luther, who died at age 2 in 1907; and another sister, Marion, born in 1907.

Unfortunately, Richard became severely ill in early 1912, and doctors recommended a return to America for treatment. His mother, Nellie, determined to take the boy to a specialist in Benton Harbor, Michigan, and booked the trip on the Titanic with her other two children, leaving her husband behind in India.

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The pride of the White Star line, the 883-foot Titanic was on its maiden voyage as it set off from Southampton on April 10. Constructed in Belfast, the ship was widely believed to be unsinkable. Despite the lavish amenities of the ship, its 20 lifeboats could only hold about a third of its passenger capacity.

Contrary to popular belief, the ship was not loaded only with wealthy passengers, as over half were sailing third-class, in steerage. While they existed in decent surroundings, it was certainly nothing like those in first- and second-class above.

The Beckers’ accommodations were a little better, as they traveled second-class in Cabin F4, which cost 39 British pounds, or around $50 in American dollars of the time.

On the night of the crash, Nellie and her three children moved to the upper decks, waiting in one of the public rooms for rescue. She managed to get Richard and Marion into lifeboat 11, but an officer told Nellie there was no room for her to join her children. After she pleaded with the officer, he finally pushed her into the boat as it was being lowered.

Ruth, meanwhile, was left behind until she made her way into lifeboat 13, where she handed her blanket to another passenger, who was shivering nearby. As the lifeboats plodded away in the frigid seas, the Titanic finally went under at 2:20 a.m. April 15, just over two and a half hours after plowing into the iceberg.

Though figures vary, a total of 1,517 people lost their lives – 832 passengers and 685 crew members. Seventy-six percent of those in third class died; by comparison, one writer claims that 97% of first-class women survived. In all, 80% of male passengers died, while only 25% of female passengers were victims.

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All four of the Beckers were among the many survivors picked up by the 558-foot liner Carpathia, which arrived in New York Harbor on April 18. The survivors’ return was celebrated by a public that was captivated by the disaster.

Nellie Becker and her husband eventually settled in Benton Harbor, where she died in 1961 at age 84. She is buried in the family plot in Princeton. Nellie outlived her daughter, Marion, by 17 years, as she had succumbed to tuberculosis in 1944 at age 36 in her new home of Glendale, California.

Ruth, the oldest sister, became a schoolteacher and raised three children before she retired to Santa Barbara, California, in 1971. For many years, she barely spoke of that night on the Titanic, but in later life, she became one of the most famous survivors of the ship, granting numerous interviews.

She did not take a sea trip again until she embarked on a cruise to Mexico, four months before her death in July 1990. Her ashes were scattered over the water where the Titanic now rests.

The U.S. Census of 1940 reported that Richard Becker was living in Jacksonville with his 28-year-old wife, Eve, and a 2-year-old son. Eve died in 1942, and the next year, Richard remarried, a union that produced two daughters.

Richard and his family eventually settled in Minnesota, where he was a regional director for the American Red Cross. He subsequently relocated to Peoria and worked as a safety supervisor for Caterpillar Tractor. He died on Sept. 6, 1975, and is buried in Peoria.

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The Titanic has since become an indelible part of American lore and pop culture, bolstered by the 1997 blockbuster movie and a Tony-winning Broadway musical, and has been romanticized for its luxurious splendor. However, it is not the deadliest shipwreck in American history.

That distinction belongs to the Sultana, an overcrowded steamer that included many Civil War veterans returning from service, which met a much more gruesome end. That vessel was sailing near Memphis on the Mississippi River on April 27, 1865, when the boilers exploded, killing at least 1,700 passengers, many from burns.

Other serious maritime disasters included the Lusitania, a luxury liner sunk by a German U-boat on May 7, 1915, costing 1,197 lives, and the General Slocum, a steamer that burned on a pleasure excursion in the East River in New York City on June 15, 1904, with a loss of 1,021 lives.

Closer to home, the Eastland, a steamer loaded with electrical workers bound for a company picnic, capsized from its mooring in the Chicago River on July 24, 1915. The loss of 844 passengers was higher than the passenger casualty total on the Titanic, and remains the deadliest ship disaster in Great Lakes history.

• Tom Emery is a freelance writer and historical researcher from Carlinville, Illinois. He may be reached at 217-710-8392 or ilcivilwar@yahoo.com.