I have been looking into the lives of the people who were on board the RMS Titanic. Walter Donald Douglas was one such person.
Douglas was born on the 21st of April 1861 in Waterloo, Iowa. His father, George Douglas, had emigrated from Scotland and was one of the founders of the Quaker Oats Company. After attending school and training at a military academy in Minnesota, he started his career in the world of business.
In 1884 he married Lulu Camp, and they had two sons. Tragically, Lulu died in 1899. Douglas perhaps threw his energy into work. Over the years he built a reputation as a successful businessman. With his brother he established the Douglas Starchworks, which became one of the largest starch manufacturers west of the Mississippi. He also invested in grain, banking, and other companies, eventually becoming wealthy and respected in American business circles.
In 1907 he married again, this time to Mahala Dutton. By the beginning of 1912 he had retired. The couple travelled through Europe for several months, selecting furnishings for their new home. Their journey home was in first-class aboard the Titanic.
When the ship hit the iceberg in April 1912, their lives changed in a single night. Mahala survived and was among the first passengers rescued by the RMS Carpathia, but Walter sadly did not. His body was later recovered and returned to the United States.
Do you think the stories of individual passengers like Walter Douglas change the way we understand the tragedy of the Titanic?
Image info:
Walter Donald Douglas
Date: 1918
Source: The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography
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