Early in the morning of Saturday, January 24, 1909, the Royal Mail Ship Republic was rammed by
the S.S. Florida, a ship of the Lloyd-Italiana line, transporting earthquake refugees from Italy to the United
States. The Republic was outbound from New York for the Mediterranean. The Republic later sank on Sunday,
January 25, 1909, after futile attempts had been made to tow the ship to shallow water.
The accident, prior to the sinking of the RMS Titanic (also a White Star ship) was the largest maritime
disaster of the time where loss of life was so minimal. Three passengers aboard the Republic and three
aboard the Florida were killed in the collision. This episode is also known for its still being the largest
open-sea rescue ever conducted successfully. The Republic passengers were actually transferred twice, once from
the Republic to the Florida and then from the Florida to the RMS Baltic.
Captain Inman Sealby of the Republic attempted to go down with his ship. As the Republic sank beneath the waves,
pressure from trapped air escaping the ship actually forced the captain to the surface and he was rescued. But
the man made most famous by the whole of the Republic disaster was 26-year-old Marconi wireless operator, Jack Binns,
who stayed at his post throughout the slow sinking of the Republic. He used his wireless to transmit coordinates and
to vector rescue vessels to the Republic's position. His coolness under duress as well as his use of the wireless, a
technology that most thought of as mysterious and eerie, made him a hero throughout the nation.
Born John Robinson "Jack" Binns in Lincolnshire, England in 1884, Binns was honored by the Marconi Company and later
offered the opportunity to serve as a Marconi operator on the RMS Titanic. Binns turned down the promotion and missed
the notoriety of serving on the two White Star liners that now rest on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.
Mr. Samuel Cupples, a St. Louis entrepreneur and philanthropist had booked passage on the Republic for himself and for
his family. They had planned a great, eight month long trip through the holy land and the Mediterranean basin. Their
trip lasted a bit less than three days and offered experiences that had not been anticipated but which did last a lifetime.
Just click on the thumbnail images for the R. M. S. Republic news as it unfolded!
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| Mr. Cupples Called "Dad" by Crew |
Mr. Cupples After Rescue |
Cupples's Jewlery Lost |
Evening Telegram Headline |
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| Lost Gems |
Magic of Wireless |
Shipwreck Filmed |
Shipwreck Site |
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| Cupples Says No Panic |
Post-Dispatch Headline |
St. Louis Post Bird |
Location of Amelia Cupples Scudder's stateroom |
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| Graphic of Sinking |
Heroic Women |
Rescue from the Baltic |
Thrilling Rescue |
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| Uncle Sam Thanks Marconi |
Relaying Distress Call |
Women's Courage |
Graphic of the Wreck |
Cupples Family Scrapbook
The Cupples Family Scrapbook of the ramming of the RMS Republic is composed of newspaper clippings recounting the Republic disaster. The book
is signed by Amelia Cupples Scudder who was also a passenger on the Republic. She gathered articles from both New York and St. Louis newspapers
and in some cases used a clipping service to supplement those articles which she, presumably, cut out of the newspapers herself.
The fragility of early twentieth-century newsprint is no secret. The holes, folds and tears coupled with the brittleness of the paper
(the result of the high acid content of the wood pulp used to produce newsprint in that era) make it impossible to place the scrapbook on display.
Some of the pages have been photographed and you will find examples of the coverage of the Republic disaster in this section of the Historic Samuel
Cupples House website.
Link to Articles About Samuel Cupples and Family
in the Wreck of the R.M.S. Republic
