Thomas Andrews

The architect who built the unsinkable ship

Who is he?

Thomas Andrews was the managing director and head of the design department at Harland & Wolff in Belfast, best known for designing the RMS Titanic.

Why is he an overman?

Thomas Andrews designed the most legendary ship in history. It was so beautiful that the ocean decided to never let it go. That proves that Andrews created something worthy to belong to nature itself.

He realized that the Titanic is his creation and they should go together. He lived through the disaster with dignity and did the best he could to help others around him.

Short biography:

7 February 1873 – 15 April 1912

Thomas Andrews was born in a prominent family from Comber, Ireland. He received an education at the Royal Belfast Academical Institutionand at the age of 16 started an apprenticeship at Harland & Wolff. He rose in the hyerarchy quickly thanks to his engineering skill and strong work ethic.

Andrwes married Helen Reilly Barbour in 1907 and they had one daughter, Elizabeth Law Barbour Andrews. The family lived a comfortable domestic life centered around Andrews’ demanding shipbuilding career.

He boarded the Titanic for its maiden voyage and after it hit the iceberg, he quickly realized that there was no hope for saving the ship. He spent the hours before the sinking trying to help other passengers save themselves. Accounts place him staring blankly at a painting above a fireplace without his lifebelt in the final minutes of the ship.