Horace John Dean

Horace John Dean was the First Officer of the RMS Carpathia on April 15th, when the ship rescued the Titanic survivors after the sinking.

Biography[]

Birth[]

Horace J. Dean was born on September 11th 1876 in Gosport, Hampshire, England, he was one of nine children in the Dean family, he was son of John Dean and former Francis C. McCormick, of Essex.

Shipping Career[]

In 1892, a then 15 year old Dean became an apprentice for the Royal Navy; in 1897 he was awarded his ‘Second Mate’s Competency Certificate’ followed by his ‘First Mate’s Competency Certificate’ in 1900, and Master’s and Extra-Master’s in 1902. He married Elizabeth J. G. Steele in 1906, and had their only son, Herbert Dean, in 1908. the family moved to Liverpool in between 1910 and 1911.

Horace would then be employed by the Cunard Line to work as an officer on some of their ships, the RMS Campania and RMS Franconia. In January 1912 he was made First Officer aboard the RMS Carmania during one of its voyages.

Carpathia[]

In April, he signed-on to the Carpathia which was bound towards Fiume, Austria-Hungary. He kept his rank as First Officer aboard the ship. The Carpathia left New York on April 11th, 1912. With around 740 passengers and crew, the first 3 days of the voyage everything went uneventful for Horace and the other officers. At around 12:33 A.M. on April 15th 1912, Dean was on deck with Bisset, Rees and Barnish, when Wireless Operator Cottam came up on deck to report about a distress call from the Titanic and how she was sinking.

Dean and the officers just laughed at him and said that Cottam was a victim of a joke and that the Titanic wasn’t sinking. Agitated, but taking no time to argue, Cottam hurried off for the captain’s cabin. Dean and Bisset chased after him, but were unable to stop him and Cottam had burst into the captain’s cabin and roused him from his sleep.

Captain Arthur Rostron was understandably angry about the audacity of his crewman to storm in like this, but after being confirmed that the Titanic was sinking, he told Dean and Bisset to rush to the ships aid. Carpathia would then travel 17.5 knots to the Titanic's location and arrive there around 4:00 A.M. Dean would reportedly call out “Hello Lights!” to Titanic’s Second Officer Lightoller, who was commanding lifeboat 12. Rostron, Dean and the others would save around 710 survivors from the sinking that morning, as Carpathia turned around from the sinkage site towards New York, and would arrive in the late hours of April 18th.

Later life[]

Dean served throughout World War I and World War II, he retired to his home in Wanstead, Essex, where his wife Elizabeth died in 1940 and he became a widower. He remarried to Daisy Emily Wilson the following year, and resettled to Bournemouth, Dorset, where he would die on February 6th, 1943, his wife Daisy later died in 1972.

Portrayals[]

'A Night to Remember' (1958 film)[]

1st Officer Dean — Horace Dean in ''A Night to Remember'

Horace was portrayed by actor Gerald Andersen in an uncredited performance on the movie 'A Night to Remember'.

'S.O.S. Titanic' (1979 film)[]

Horace Dean also appears in 'S.O.S. Titanic'. He is first seen when Harold Cottam tells him to come with him to get Captain Arthur Rostron, he barged into his cabin, and before getting more scolded Dean had told him that it was Cottam. he is portrayed by Tony Vogel.

1996 Miniseries 'Titanic'[]

Chris Humphreys portrays Horace Dean in the 1996 miniseries.

'Titanic' (1997 film)[]

Dean was played by an unknown actor in an uncredited performance, he only appears in a deleted scene after the rescue of Rose by llifeboat 14, hauling her onto the ship.

Officers film 36 — Tony Vogel as Horace Dean in 'S.O.S. Titanic'

Dean was also incorrectly shown having three stripes on his arm, a symbol for chief officers. Another officer had also been shown in a later scene with three stripes.