Born February 7, 1873 Belfast, Ireland Died April 15, 1912

Biography:
His parents, Right Honorable Thomas Andrews, Sr. (a politician) and Eliza Pirrie, married in 1870. They had one son, John, before they had Thomas, Jr. in 1873. There family home is Ardara which is located in Comber, County Town, Ireland.

Thomas's mother, Eliza Pirrie Andrews, was the sister of Lord William James who was the owner of the shipbuilders Harland and Wolff. At 27, Pirrie already was a partner, so the later ownership wasn't a surprise. His nephew would work just like him to get up in the ranks. In 1906, Pirrie, was made a Baron and a Viscount in 1921. He had no children though so the title ended with his death.

Then there was Thomas's older brother. He worked in Politics and became Prime Minister of Northern Ireland.

Now, then of course there was Thomas. He left school in 1889 when he was only 16 and went to work as an apprentice at Harland and Wolffe Ltd. shipbuilders in Queen's Island. Belfast. His apprenticeship was someone who would end up high in the company.

On June 24, 1908, Thomas married Helen Reilly Barbour and moved to Winslow Avenue, Belfast. Some time in 1910 there daughter, Elizabeth, was born.

Thomas's will left his wife 10,615 and 11 shillings and 3d. Helen remarried Henry Pierson Harland. She died in 1966.

A hero:
Thomas's first heroic act was in 1910 when one of his friends climbed up 80ft to secure some loose boards during a gale. His friends name was Anthony (Archie) Frost. He became scared probably because of the tremendous height. Andrews climbed up and helped him down and then secured the boards himself.

Then of course there was his bravery on the Titanic on the fateful night of April 14, 1912. After his inspection of the ship with Captain Smith to check out the damage the iceberg had made, Andrews and the Captain returned to Thomas's cabin, A36. In his cabin, Andrews, mad his terrible announcement that the Titanic would only stay a float for an 1 and a half maybe 2. The major thing was that they were only carrying enough lifeboats for half of the passengers.

Andrews jumped right into saving as many lives as possible. First he searched the staterooms for passengers to evacuate. Even though he was telling people to put there lifejackets on and to dress warmly he wasn't wearing either. Later that evening he was walking the boat deck making people get into the boats.

After all the boats had left Thomas Andrews went to the first class smoking room just before the sinking. The last place he was seen was in front of the fireplace looking at the painting on the mantle called "Approach to the New World." He would never see this world again. Thomas Andrews Jr.'s body was never found.