Only 706 People Survived the Titanic Sinking in 1912, but Are Any Still Alive?

In April 1912, the RMS Titanic sank to the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean, taking with it an estimated 1,500 of the 2,240 passengers and crew aboard. Most of us know this tragic event thanks to the 1997 film Titanic, starring Kate Winslet as Rose and Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack. While much of the film was fictionalized for entertainment purposes, the disaster — and the iceberg that brought the massive ship to its knees — was very real.

Hundreds of lives were lost in the sinking, with the ship’s crew bearing the heaviest toll. According to Britannica, around 700 crew members died, along with many third-class passengers. First-class passengers, on the other hand, had nearly a 50 percent chance of survival compared to those in other classes. But in the end, only 706 people made it out alive, per History.

So of those 706 survivors, is anyone still alive today?

There are no longer any living survivors from the Titanic — the last known passenger was Millvina Dean, who died in 2009 at the age of 97. Millvina was only nine weeks old when she boarded what was, at the time, considered the world’s largest ship, making her the youngest passenger aboard, per the Los Angeles Times. Not only was she the youngest, but she also became the final living survivor, securing her place in history for multiple reasons.

Millvina was traveling third class with her mother, Georgetta, 32, her father, Bertram, 27, and her older brother, also named Bertram, who was just under 2 years old. Despite their lower-class status, Millvina, her mom, and her brother managed to make it onto a lifeboat. Her father, like many men that night, stayed behind and went down with the ship.

In a 2008 interview, Millvina revealed she didn’t even know she had survived a shipwreck until she was eight years old. But it wasn’t until 1985, when the wreckage was finally discovered, 73 years after the sinking, that she truly understood the magnitude of the tragedy. She also admitted she never watched James Cameron’s Titanic film, saying it would be "too emotional" considering her father had died in the disaster.

Some of the more well-known survivors include American heiress Margaret Molly Brown — who later became known as "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" thanks to her efforts during and after the sinking, as noted by History.

Yes, despite the lack of rights and societal expectations placed on women at the time, they, along with children, were given priority when it came to boarding the lifeboats as the Titanic sank. Gender played a huge role in determining who got a seat, but so did social class.

In fact, women were prioritized so heavily that about 70 percent survived compared to just 20 percent of men, and the chances of survival declined from first class to third class, according to a study published in Social Science & Medicine.

What further proves that women and children were given priority is the fact that John Jacob Astor IV — who was the wealthiest passenger aboard — didn’t survive the disaster, despite his status and wealth.