The unsinkable: Meet the nurse who survived Titanic and 2 other ship disasters

Violet Jessop’s life reads like a tale straight out of a novel. A woman who survived not one, not two, but three of history’s most infamous maritime disasters—she became a living legend in the early 20th century. From the collision of the RMS Olympic to the tragic sinking of the Titanic and Britannic, Jessop somehow always managed to escape death at sea. Her story is one of resilience, luck, and an unbreakable will to survive.

Early Life: A Tough Beginning

Born on 2 October 1887 in Bahía Blanca, Argentina, Violet Constance Jessop was the eldest of nine children to Irish immigrant parents.

After her father passed away when she was a teenager, her family moved to Britain, where her mother took a job as a stewardess on ocean liners. When her mother fell ill, Violet, at just 21 years old, took on the same role to help support her siblings.

Despite the tough working conditions, she embraced the job and soon found herself working for the White Star Line, one of the most famous shipping companies of the era.

First Disaster: The Olympic Collision (1911)

In 1910, Jessop was hired to work aboard the RMS Olympic, the largest and most luxurious ocean liner at the time. The Olympic was the pride of the White Star Line and the sister ship to the soon-to-be infamous Titanic.

On 20 September 1911, the Olympic was sailing near the Isle of Wight when it collided with the British warship HMS Hawke. The crash left both ships badly damaged, with water flooding into the Olympic’s hull. However, unlike the disasters that would follow, the Olympic managed to limp back to port without any loss of life.

Jessop, though shaken, continued working at sea, completely unaware that this was just the beginning of her encounters with maritime catastrophe.

Second Disaster: The Titanic Sinking (1912)

Less than a year after the Olympic collision, Violet Jessop was assigned to work on the maiden voyage of the RMS Titanic, the world’s largest and most advanced ocean liner. The ship set sail from Southampton on 10 April 1912, filled with excitement and luxury.

Everything seemed perfect—until the night of 14 April 1912, when the Titanic struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic Ocean.

Jessop’s Escape from the Titanic

As chaos erupted on board, Jessop was ordered to help women and children into lifeboats. She later recalled that she was handed a baby and instructed to board Lifeboat 16.

The Titanic split apart and sank into the freezing ocean, tragically taking over 1,500 lives with it. Jessop, along with the other survivors in Lifeboat 16, spent hours in the freezing cold before they were rescued by the RMS Carpathia the following morning.

Third Disaster: The Britannic Sinking (1916)

When World War I broke out, Jessop joined the British Red Cross as a nurse and was assigned to work aboard the HMHS Britannic, the third and largest of the Olympic-class ships. The Britannic had been converted into a hospital ship, ferrying wounded soldiers from the front lines.

On 21 November 1916, while sailing through the Aegean Sea near Greece, the Britannic struck a sea mine. The explosion was so powerful that it tore a massive hole in the ship's hull. Unlike the Titanic, the Britannic began sinking much faster, disappearing beneath the waves in just 55 minutes.

Jessop’s Near-Death Experience

As the crew rushed to abandon ship, Jessop leapt into the cold waters. She suffered a serious head injury, but once again, she survived. The Britannic took 30 lives, but 1,036 passengers and crew made it out alive, including Jessop.

Her survival of three major maritime disasters—on ships built by the same company—cemented her reputation as "Miss Unsinkable."

Life after the Disasters

Despite her near-death experiences, Jessop continued working at sea for decades. She eventually retired and wrote her memoirs, which were published after her death.

Violet Jessop’s story remains one of the most extraordinary survival tales in history. Her experiences aboard the Olympic, Titanic, and Britannic make her one of the few people to survive three major shipwrecks.

She never saw herself as a heroine, but her courage and resilience continue to inspire people today. Her memoirs provide a rare firsthand account of life aboard these legendary ships, and her legacy as the "Unsinkable Woman" lives on.