Orchids on the Titanic: The Story of a Second-Class Passenger

Presented by Potomac Community Village

Join Paul F. Johnston, Curator Emeritus of Maritime History at Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, as he tells the fascinating story of a passenger on the ill-fated Titanic.

Meet George "Harry" Hunt, a British horticulturist who migrated to the US in 1906 with his bride Elizabeth. In 1912, he purchased a second-class ticket to England and back on the ocean liner Oceanic for a family visit. Oceanic threw a propeller blade, and the White Star Line rebooked Harry on Titanic for the return voyage. Harry died on Titanic; his body was never found. His widow Elizabeth elected to stay in the Philadelphia area with a five-year-old daughter and nine-week-old son. What was second class like aboard Titanic? Why didn't Elizabeth return to England to be with her family? Why didn't she ever remarry?
Join us for what will be a fascinating talk about the Titanic, which still enthralls us, even though it sank more than 100 years ago. 

About our speaker 

Paul F. Johnston is Curator Emeritus of Maritime History at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, where he managed maritime history and National Watercraft collections for 37 years.  He also consults internationally with other museums on their exhibitions and other affairs, and he serves on national and international committees for the US Department of State, US Navy, the Council of American Maritime Museums, the American Affiliation of Museums, the Department of Transportation, the Society for Historical Archaeology, and the Advisory Council on Underwater Archaeology.   

Johnston’s research area is shipwreck archaeology, and he has worked on shipwrecks in the Mediterranean and Baltic Seas, the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, the Great Lakes and many smaller lakes and rivers. He has over 100 publications, ranging from nine books to numerous scientific and general-interest articles and reviews. He holds a B.A. in English Literature from Middlebury College and a Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania.

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