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Equality

As the World Mourns Its Anniversary, A Lesser Known LGBT Titanic Tale is Told

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As the 100-year anniversary of the Titanic comes to end tonight, millions of people reflected on one of history’s greatest mysteries today in more ways than one.

In Houston, a $12,000-a-plate, 10-course dinner was served to whoever wanted to (or could afford to) relive the last supper held before the iceberg hit. Media outlets put together hordes of old-fashioned picture galleries from the day of departure. And the 3D film version of the luxury liner’s collapse made $2 billion this weekend, proving that James Cameron can never fail presumably at anything.

But historian Richard Davenport-Hines decided to reflect on the Titanic’s demise by telling a tale that is rarely heard of yet is as relevant as ever – a doomed love story that rises above the relationship of Winslet and DiCaprio.

He wrote a piece that was shared in The Daily today about a young passenger of the ship named Major Archibald Butt, a respected figure in Washington who was good friends with Presidents William Taft and Teddy Roosevelt and a gay man.

Butt lived with his partner, Frank Millet, in Washington before they departed together for Southampton to ride alongside the bourgeoisie and emigrants on the ill-fated ship. As it sank into oblivion, the historian speculates that they were together at the end, just like Jack and Rose.

Back home, their parties were well-attended by the famous stars of the nation’s capital at the time, who all knew about the ‘scandalous’ relationship but kept any feelings about it at bay. After their death, Davenport-Hines writes that the reporters who remembered Butt at the time failed to mention the love story’s tragic end because “the experiences of gay people are often written out of the narrative.”
Read the entire story here of Butt’s life before the Titanic and the unbelievable legacy he left after his death. It’s much better then paying to see the movie… again.