Captain Edward John Smith (1850 - 1912) was a very experienced English ship's captain who worked for the White Star Line. Because of his experience he was given command of RMS Titanic, the largest ocean liner in the world, for her first voyage, from Southampton to New York.
Captain Smith died when the Titanic hit an iceberg and sank in April 1912. Nobody knows exactly how he died, but it is presumed that he remained with the ship as she went down.
There is a memorial statue to him in Lichfield, England, which a plaque that reads:
"Bequeathing to his countrymen the memory and example of a great heart, a brave life and a heroic death. Be British."
