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Because he survived.

Ismay was the chairman of the White Star line, the company that owned and operated the Titanic. He was also aboard during her maiden voyage (this wasn't unusual; Ismay had done the same on other White Star ships before, presumably to obtain a first hand passenger's viewpoint to see if there were any issues that needed to be addressed).

When the Titanic sank, Ismay was among those who managed to escape in a life raft. The fact that many other passengers did not, lead some to charge that Ismay had used his position to save himself at the expense of others, and it was particularly bad since a number of women and children were unable to secure a spot on the life rafts.

What actually happened is rather murky. One passenger testified that Ismay did allow women and children to board first, even assisting them to do so, and only boarded himself when there were no women and children remaining near that life raft. It was definitely true that there weren't enough life rafts for everyone aboard the ship, but it was equally true that many life rafts launched with space remaining due to there being no one remaining waiting to board. Many passengers had no idea what to do in an emergency, since it wasn't anticipated that there could be one, so they didn't try to reach a life raft, didn't know how to reach a life raft, or weren't able to get to one for some other reason.

It's possible Ismay could have directed the raft to wait until the last possible instant to leave ... but the problem with that is that it would have been difficult to know when the "last possible instant" was. The Titanic was much larger than the raft, and the raft needed to be well clear of the area when the Titanic finally went down, By ordering the raft to wait, Ismay might well have been dooming those already aboard it in order to save hypothetical people who might, or might not, ever show up.

Overall, the epithet is probably unwarranted, but it stuck anyway, probably in part due to the "yellow journalism" of William Randolph Hearst, who seems to have had some kind of personal vendetta against Ismay.

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Q: Why is Bruce ismay known as the coward of the Titanic?
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Who owed the Titanic?

White Star Line owned the Titanic, the owner of White Star Line was Bruce J. Ismay, now known as a coward for jumping into a lifeboat when a officer wasn't looking, saving himself not like the heroes who went down with the ship.


Who created the Titanic?

white star created the titanicThomas AndrewsThomas Andrews was the chief designer behind the titanic ship, but J Bruce Ismay thought of the idea to build a ship called the titanic and also inspired Thomas Andrews to create this well known ship!


What are the names of the six living survivors who were on board the Titanic when she sank?

Of the 712 survivors of Titanic's crash (and sinking) some more well-known one were Margaret Brown, Bruce Ismay, and the Duff-Gordons.


Who was president of White Star Line?

The founder of the white star line was Mr.Ismay senior he devolped a powerful company of grad ship building and then gave it over his son Bruce Ismay which was the main chairman of the company ...Bruce Ismay then sailed on the white star lines gradest project the Titanic which sank and ruined his career as chiarman and ended the possiablitiy of another wrong ship disaster


Who were some of the famous people on board the RMS Titanic?

John Jacob Astor (richest man on the ship) Margret Brown (she was known as Molly. History calls her 'the unsinkable Molly Brown') Bruce Ishmay (he thought of the idea of the Titanic) Mr Andrews (he created the Titanic) And so many others. My great granmother was on the Titanic. I never get tired of hearing her tails from when she was on the Titanic. There so intresting!

Related questions

Who owed the Titanic?

White Star Line owned the Titanic, the owner of White Star Line was Bruce J. Ismay, now known as a coward for jumping into a lifeboat when a officer wasn't looking, saving himself not like the heroes who went down with the ship.


Did ismay survive?

yes Ismay did survive and for the rest of his life he was known as a coward for taking a woman or child in a life boat and lived a lonely sad life because of that.


Who created the Titanic?

white star created the titanicThomas AndrewsThomas Andrews was the chief designer behind the titanic ship, but J Bruce Ismay thought of the idea to build a ship called the titanic and also inspired Thomas Andrews to create this well known ship!


What are the names of the six living survivors who were on board the Titanic when she sank?

Of the 712 survivors of Titanic's crash (and sinking) some more well-known one were Margaret Brown, Bruce Ismay, and the Duff-Gordons.


Who was president of White Star Line?

The founder of the white star line was Mr.Ismay senior he devolped a powerful company of grad ship building and then gave it over his son Bruce Ismay which was the main chairman of the company ...Bruce Ismay then sailed on the white star lines gradest project the Titanic which sank and ruined his career as chiarman and ended the possiablitiy of another wrong ship disaster


How was the predsident of white star line in 1912?

Who was the president of White Line Star? The name of the man was j.Bruce Ismay and he is well known for being the cowrd on board RMS TITANIC because he saved himself instead of going down with his ship..


Who is running away is known as a?

coward, refugee


Who were some of the famous people on board the RMS Titanic?

John Jacob Astor (richest man on the ship) Margret Brown (she was known as Molly. History calls her 'the unsinkable Molly Brown') Bruce Ishmay (he thought of the idea of the Titanic) Mr Andrews (he created the Titanic) And so many others. My great granmother was on the Titanic. I never get tired of hearing her tails from when she was on the Titanic. There so intresting!


Why was J. Bruce Ismay blamed for the sinking of the Titanic?

he changed the frame of the ship to wrought iron rivets that meant when the titanic hit the iceberg it could rip the exterior easily and flood the watertight compartments that had a little gap between each that let the water flood them 1 by 1; which he reduced the size of for a bigger staircase.he ordered the ship to go faster to therefore they probably crashed into the iceberg for that reason.


Where does the name of Carlos come from?

It comes from Latin, in which was known to be as a coward


What is a sentence using the word coward?

They all called him the coward of the county, and someone even wrote a song about it.In The Wizard of Oz, the lion is at first a coward, secretly scared of everyone and everything.General George Patton was once reprimanded for striking a soldier that he considered a coward.


What is a sentence for Titanic?

The Titanic is the biggest ship known to man