In April 1912, one of the greatest maritime disasters in history claimed the lives of 1,517 people. Among these lost souls were two men — a father and son — from Brunswick.

By the start of the Bowdoin College winter semester in 1912, 21-year-old Richard Fraser White had already completed all of his academic requirements for graduation, and did so with flying colors.

As a reward, Richard’s nearly 55-year-old father Percival White, a textile manufacturer, surprised his son with a pre-graduation trip to Europe.

The two men left their 275 Maine St. home at “The Pines” and embarked on a cross-Atlantic cruise aboard the RMS Olympic. The Whites landed in Southampton England one month later. For Richard, this was his first trip crossing the Atlantic, but it was his father’s 13th crossing.

By the second week of April, the two had concluded their European trip and were ready to go home, and they purchased tickets for the maiden voyage on the White Star Lines newest ship, the “unsinkable” RMS Titanic.

The Whites settled into their first-class stateroom, cabin D-26, on the Saloon Deck. The Titanic first sailed to Cherbourg France, just across the English Channel, before sailing on to Ireland.

Of their new acquaintances were Elizabeth Lines and her daughter Mary, two American women living in France. The Lines women stayed in cabin D-28, adjacent to Richard and Percival’s stateroom, and these ladies were the Whites assigned dinner companions.

During the trip, guests enjoyed the luxurious accommodations onboard the Titanic. A swimming pool, sauna, gymnasium, restaurant, library, music root and lounge, all added to the games of cards and shuffleboard. Leisurely walks around the Titanic’s deck allowed passengers to enjoy the fresh salt air, the ocean view and an opportunity to socialize.

Percival and Richard enjoyed the cruise, and the company of the Lines ladies. On Sunday, April 14, 1912, the four took lunch and dinner together, then returned to their staterooms and turned in for the night. Neither of these four could have guessed the historic calamity that was about to befall them.

During the voyage, the Titanic’s radio room received seven iceberg warnings, but none of these warnings were deemed a direct threat to the Titanic, and she continued steaming at full speed.

High above the Titanic’s deck, Frederick Fleet and Reginald Lee stood watch in the Crows Nest. The air was frosty and the surface of the water was dead calm under a remarkably clear and bright, starry sky. It had been a relatively quiet night.

Then, at nearly half-past 11 p.m., Fleet spied the faint outline of an iceberg. He quickly rang the crow’s nest bell three times and hurriedly announced, “Iceberg right ahead!” But it was too late. The RMS Titanic grazed the iceberg, just under the waterline on the ship’s starboard side. The Titanic’s hull was brutally ripped open and the great ship was mortally wounded.

Though initially directed to stay in their cabin, Elizabeth and Mary Lines were concerned. Percival had stepped out of his cabin and ascertained enough information to determine that action was necessary.

Percival and Richard both summoned the women from their room and urged them to put on their lifebelts. Then, the two men escorted the ladies onto the main deck where disbelief and panic were just setting in.

Captain Smith ordered “women and children first, into the lifeboats.” Richard and Percival stayed with the Lines women until the ladies’ turn came to board a lifeboat. Richard and Percival helped the women into the number-nine lifeboat and bid them goodbye.

By nearly 2:30 on the morning of Monday, April 15, half of Titanic was already submerged in icy seawater, her lights were failing, the lifeboats were gone and those who remained on the Titanic realized they must soon jump into the frigid sea.

Richard and Percival remained on Titanic’s pitching deck until they could no longer. Elizabeth Lines later testified she witnessed Richard and Percival removing their shoes and holding hands as they leapt together into the dark sea. Though the ladies searched for the Whites, neither of the two men were seen again.

Out of the nearly 335 victims recovered, one was the lifeless body of Richard White, but his father was never found. Identification of Richard’s bloated body was difficult, but his Bowdoin College Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity pin clearly identified his remains.

As his body was escorted home, memorial services for Richard were held in the chapel at Bowdoin College. Richard was laid to rest in the family plot in Winchendon, Massachusetts.

The remarkable legend of the RMS Titanic and Brunswick’s loss of Richard and Percival White are forever remembered in this epic disaster and in the annals of our unsinkable Stories from Maine.

Lori-Suzanne Dell is a Brunswick author and historian. She has published four books and runs the “Stories from Maine” Facebook page.