April 9th, 1875 - April 15th, 1912
He is a Aries
Jacques Heath Futrelle was an American journalist and mystery writer. He is best known for writing short detective stories featuring Professor Augustus S.F.X Van Dusen, also known as "The Thinking Machine" for his use of logic. He died in the sinking of the RMS Titanic.
Futrelle was born in Pike County, Georgia. He worked for the Atlanta Journal, where he began their sports section, the New York Herald, the Boston Post and the Boston American, where, in 1905, his Thinking Machine character appeared in a serialized version of the short story, "The Problem of Cell 13". Futrelle left the Boston American in 1906 to write novels. He had a harbor-view house built in Scituate, Massachusetts, which he called "Stepping Stones" and spent most of his time there until his death in 1912. His last work, My Lady's Garter, was published posthumously in 1912. His widow inscribed in the book, "To the heroes of the Titanic, I dedicate this my husband's book", under a photo of him. It has been suggested that his detective from The Thinking Machine was a inspiration for Agatha Christie. His wife was authored several novels and magazine articles.
Jacques Futrelle Best Known Works:
- The Thinking Machine
- The Thinking Machine On The Case
- The Diamond Master
- The High Hand
Futrelle bought a house in Scituate, razed it, built a 'Cape Cod' for his wife and family. Futrelle married Lily May Peel on July 17th, 1895 in her parents home. They had two kids: John and Virginia.
Onboard The Titanic:
In 1912, Futrelle and Lily traveled in Europe for several weeks while Futrelle wrote a number of magazine articles. On the night before sailing, friends had gathered in London to celebrate Futrelle's 37th birthday. The party didn't end until 3:00 AM and the Futrelle's never went to bed and instead packed and headed for Southampton. Lily later lamented that "If my husband had gotten drunk that night, he might not have sailed, and he might be alive today. But he never did drink much."
They traveled as first class passengers and were possibly occupied in C-123.
April 14th-15th, 1912:
After the collision with the iceberg, Futrelle got Lily into a lifeboat (Collapsable D). Lily pleaded with him to get in the boat but he refused, saying he would come later on in another lifeboat. Lily remembered the last she saw of him was him smoking a cigarette with John Jacob Astor IV. Futrelle's last work, "My Lady's Garter", was published posthumously later in 1912. Lily inscribed in the book, "To the heroes of Titanic, I dedicate this my husband's book" under a photo of Futrelle.
Futrelle's body was never found. On July 29, 1912, Futrelle's mother, Linnie Futrelle, died in her Georgia home; her death was attributed to grief over his death.
Portrayals:
Futrelle is used as the protagonist in Max Allan Collins' disaster series novel The Titanic Murders (1999), about two murders aboard the Titanic.
Rest In Peace Jacques Futrelle.
The sources I used were Wikipedia and www.encyclopedia-titanica.org