William Francis Norman O’Loughlin – Irish Surgeon on the Titanic
As the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic approaches, it seems a good time to look at the life of the Irish doctor William Francis Norman O'Loughlin, who was ship's surgeon on the Titanic and went down with the ship.
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| Dr O'Loughlin |
William O'Loughlin was born in 1849. Left an orphan on the death of his parents O'Loughlin was brought up by his maternal uncle Benjamin Matthews, in Tralee. There seems to be some confusion about where Dr O'Loughlin received his medical education, with some reporting he received his education at Trinity College Dublin, and other that he was educated at the Cecelia Street Medical School, which was part of the Catholic University and eventually formed part of University College Dublin. What is certain is that in 1870 O'Loughlin received the Licentiateship of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, and in the following year he received his Licentiateship of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, the two Licentiateships being the equivalent of a medical degree and allowing him to practice as a doctor.
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| SS Britannic |
Following his qualification Dr O'Loughlin decided on a career at sea, and he served with the White Star Line for many years. Dr O'Loughlin's 40 years at sea where not without incident. In 1887 he was serving on the SS Britannic when she collided with the SS Celtic in heavy fog off the cost of New Jersey. The Britannic was the more seriously damaged by the collision and the passengers, fearing she would sink, rushed to the lifeboats. The Captain was able to re-establish order on his ship, and the Britannic was safely escorted into New York harbour.
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| RMS Titanic, April 1912 |
In April 1912 when Dr O'Loughlin boarded the Titanic in Belfast he was Senior Surgeon of the White Star Line and aged 62 years. Reports of the survivors state that after the ship had hit the iceberg Dr O'Loughlin calmly directed passengers towards the life boats and did his best to calm the panic. An obituary in American Medicine stated that;
'Dr O'Loughlin knew no fear, for he paid no attention to his own danger but went from one group to another, soothing the frightened, encouraging the week and striving in every way to prevent panic and hysteria. As the last life-boat left the vessel, although he must have known that the end was near, he was seen standing in a companionway with the same smile on his face that had endeared him to countless travellers who knew and loved him.'
Dr O'Loughlin's body was never identified amongst those which were recovered from the disaster. Several of the newspaper reports at the time commented on Dr O'Loughlin's long stated wish to be buried at sea.
In 1914 the New York Times established a fund to promote a memorial to Dr O'Loughlin. The money collected went to St. Vincent's Hospital, New York, an institution Dr O'Loughlin had supported during his life, to equip a new emergency ward.
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| Printed memoiral to O'Loughlin in American Medicine 1912 |
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