Press "Enter" to skip to content

Profile of the Day: Lady Lucy Duff-Gordon

Do you have ancestors who were on the Titanic? On this day in 1863, famous Titanic passenger Lady Lucy Duff-Gordon was born in London, England.

Image: Lady Lucy Duff-Gordon / Library of Congress

She was born Lucy Christiana Sutherland to Douglas Sutherland, a civil engineer, and Elinor Saunders. Lady Duff-Gordon was known one of England’s leading fashion designers and an innovator in couture styles. She originated the “mannequin parade,” which was the precursor to the modern fashion show.

However, Lady Duff-Gordon is perhaps best remembered as a survivor of the ill-fated ship, Titanic. On the night of April 14, she and her husband escaped the sinking ship in Lifeboat No. 1. Although built to hold 40 people, the boat was lowered with only 12 passengers. After their rescue, the couple were faced with intense public criticism for their attitudes during the catastrophe, with many suspecting the couple of bribing the crew not to return to the ship to pick up survivors. Lady Duff-Gordon would later be called to testify at the hearings of the British Board of Trade’s inquiry into the disaster.

Did you know she had yet another close call three years after surviving the Titanic? She was originally set to board the RMS Lusitania before cancelling her trip due to illness. On May 7, 1915, the Lusitania was sunk by a German torpedo.  

View Lady Lucy Duff-Gordon’s Geni Profile

iframe{ border: 1px solid #999; }

The post Profile of the Day: Lady Lucy Duff-Gordon first appeared on The Geni Blog.

Source: Geni.com

Be First to Comment

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *