Tag Archives: Titanic

Another Titanic Voyage

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Real Estate Investor and billionaire Larry Connor plans to take a sub to the Titanic site to prove a point. Along with co-founder Patrick Lahey, Connor plans to take a two-man sub to prove the industry is much safer after the OceanGate implosion, which took the lives of all five on board. Connor contacted Lahey days after the tragedy and asked him to design and build a capable vessel.

“I want to show people worldwide that while the ocean is extremely powerful, it can be wonderful and enjoyable and really kind of life-changing if you go about it the right way,” Connor told reporters with the Wall Street Journal.

Conner told the Wall Street Journal he is confident the $20 million vessel, the Triton 4000/2 Abyssal Explorer, can make the voyage multiple times.

“Patrick has been thinking about and designing this for over a decade. But we didn’t have the materials and technology. You couldn’t have built this sub five years ago,” Connor told the publication.

“You know, what we need to do is build a sub that can dive to (Titanic-level depths) repeatedly and safely and demonstrate to the world that you guys can do that, and that Titan was a contraption,” Lahey told the Wall Street Journal.

Lahey was a critic who declared the OceanGate’s approach predatory. Many whistleblowers in the industry came forward with concerns over the sub’s ability to handle the voyage, as the company opted to skip many safety steps, including certification through the American Bureau of Shipping or Europe’s Det Norske Vertas.

Connor did not specify a date for when the voyage would take place.

Eddie Breen

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“Eagles can fly, but can’t talk; parrots can’t really fly but can talk; so I just think I’m an Eagle.” Orville Wright to Eddie Breen, when asked why he doesn’t say much. Eddie Breen would later serve as pallbearer at Orville’s funeral.

Eddie Breen served as Mayor of Dayton from 1946-1948 then served as a member of the US House of Representatives from Ohio’s 3rd District.

Eddie had many notable members of his family, including:

  • John Breen, who along with John Ohmer had invented and manufactured the Taxi Meter. They originally planned to take the maiden voyage of the Titanic but opted instead to continue their sales trip in Europe.
  • Maurice Breen, who smuggled runaway slaves in his wagon among parts for railway construction.
  • Bernadina Focke and her sons, who set up a card table in the Arcade selling meat. This business would become a successful meat packing business that lasted until 1972.
  • Mary Lousie Breen, who spied for FDR in France and Germany during WWII.
  • Marie Berno Focke, who sang and danced with Fred Astaire in the 1920s.

Eddie Breen died on May 8, 1991, and is buried at Calvary Cemetery. For more information about these events and more stories about this family, check out the book Lucky Eddie, by Edward Focke Breen.

Philip Zenni – Mr. Titanic

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During the icy, dark night hours of April 15, 1912, terrified passengers were crowding the deck aboard the R.M.S. Titanic, attempting to get into lifeboats as they were being lowered, under capacity, into the water. Men were being pushed back from the lifeboats, as the general rule was “women and children first.” Phillip Zenni, a passenger from Syria and the only known passenger heading to Dayton, Ohio, wasn’t buying it. Everyone should get a chance to get off this boat, he thought. Zenni waited until the officer keeping passengers back had turned his back, and once he was clear, Zenni jumped onto Lifeboat 6, made famous by the “Unsinkable” Molly Brown.

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