- Richard Norris Williams survived the sinking of the Titanic by swimming to a lifeboat.
- After he was rescued, he refused a doctor’s suggestion to amputate his legs.
- Williams became the highest-ranking tennis player in the US and won an Olympic gold medal in 1924.
Richard Norris Williams was an accomplished tennis player who competed in the 1924 Paris Olympics, but he’s most famous for his incredible survival of the Titanic.
The RMS Titanic, a British passenger ship operated by the White Star Line, set sail on its infamous voyage on April 10, 1912.
Over 2,000 people were aboard the ship when it collided with an iceberg and sank during the early hours of April 15, 1912.
Of all the passengers aboard the Titanic, about 700 people made it into lifeboats. Most of the Titanic victims who did not make it onto a lifeboat either drowned, went down with the ship, or froze to death in the Atlantic Ocean as they waited to be rescued.
The survival rate for first-class male passengers aboard Titanic was just 33%, according to the study “Titanic: A Statistical Exploration,” making Williams’ story of survival all the more extraordinary.
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