Sarkis Mardirosian was a passenger on the Titanic.
Background[]
Sarkis Mardirosian was born in the 1880s. His background is not complete, but, according to records, he had Armenian blood and was given life in America, with his family being established in Beirut, Lebanon. They did something in antiqairs in Lyons, France. Sarkis, when older, was doing farm work.
In 1912, he was probably visiting his family and relatives in Kigi, the Turkish occupied Armenia, part of the Armenian Erzurum province in Turkey.The Ottomans made quite a havoc in the Armenian communities for decades, which prompted many of Armenian origin to a large exodus that had already started before 1900, seeking their hail elsewhere, most of all in Canada. There were religious purges and places were raided, innocent villagers were harrassed. Young men were taken into the army. Sarkis must have worried for his own safety as well. As a traveller, he now wanted to go to Brantford in Ontario, Canada. Their were already many Armenian conglomerates formed in Canada.
Titanic[]
On Wednesday, April 10, Sarkis got onto the Titanic in the French city of Cherbourg via a small tender. He had paid a price of £7, 4 shillings and 7 dimes for Third Class. Several other Armenians were on Titanic in steerage as well. They were also headed to Brantford, like Mardirosian.
On the fourth day of the voyage, April 14, 1912, at about 11:39 P.M, the Titanic lookouts came face to face with an iceberg, Just moments for the Titanic would run into the iceberg, the watch officer's commands had reached the engine room to reduce Titanic’s speed as he ordered his quartermaster to turn Titanic to port, but it was too late. The iceberg touched the starboard side of the ship and tore through the her lower parts of the hull for a hundred meters. Water spurged through the openings at a quick rate.
Titanic’s captain, Edward John Smith, called for Thomas Andrews and they went down to various parts of the bow to take a look at the leaks. Having gathered enough information, they went to the bridge, where Andrews had signed off any hope for Titanic to live through her damage. She would have a couple of hours. For the captain, this meant he had to get as many people off the ship so, on April 15, just after midnight, the sailors and other crew were called to their boat stations.
In the end, there were not enough lifeboats and there was not enough time. Many remained behind when the last 2 lifeboats were washed off. At 2:15 A.M, Titanic’s sinking sped up and she went down with her bow first, while her stern was rising. like a duck taking its head under water wit its behind going up. In a few minutes, the rear was high up in the sky, when she broke her back with her lights going out, plunging into the cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean. For Sarkis and many Armenians, this was the end of the line. The subzero temperature killed many of those that were still alive and had been on Titanic till they no longer could. Titanic sank after 2 hours and 40 minutes since the incident.
Hypothermia was the main cause of death for over a 1000 others. The bodies of many were swallowed by the sea, never to be seen again. Sarkis was one of them.