Frank Tower

Frank Lucks Tower is the subject of an urban legend that said that he survived the sinkings of the RMS "Titanic", RMS "Empress of Ireland", and the RMS "Lusitania". There is no evidence that anyone was involved in all three disasters. Fact|date=February 2007

The legend claims that he was a coal stoker on the "Titanic", and survived after she sank on her maiden voyage on 14 April 1912. Two years later, on 28 May 1914, Frank was allegedly aboard the "Empress of Ireland" when she collided with the Norwegian collier "Storstad" in the Saint Lawrence River. This disaster was considered the worst peacetime maritime disaster in Canadian history, and Tower was one of only 465 of the 1477 aboard to survive. During WWI, Tower was serving as a crew member aboard the RMS "Lusitania". In the early afternoon of 7 May, 1915, she was torpedoed by the German submarine "U-20" and sank eighteen minutes later. (It is rumored that he shouted "Now what!?" when the torpedo struck.) Again, Tower escaped the sinking ship, and swam to a nearby lifeboat.

The legend also claims that the story of Frank Tower serves as the inspiration for Rod Serling's teleplay "Lone Survivor" for "Night Gallery". Fact|date=February 2007

"Ripley's Believe It or Not" reported the legend as if it were verifiably true. [cite book | last = Mooney | first = Julie | title = Ripley's Believe It or Not! Encyclopedia of the Bizarre: Amazing, Strange, Inexplicable, Weird and All True! | publisher = Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers | location = New York | year = 2004 | isbn = 1579123996 | page = 23 ]

Clive Cussler briefly cites this legendary figure in his nonfiction book , in the chapter concerning the "U-20". He relates that after the sinking of the "Lusitania", Tower swore that he would take up farming and never go to sea again. (This is probably dramatic license on Cussler's part, as he offers fictionalized imaginings of events leading up to and during the shipwrecks depicted.)

Notes

References

* Mooney, Julie (2002). [http://books.google.com/books?id=xLV4AQAACAAJ&dq=julie+mooney+Ripley%27s+Believe+It+or+Not!&client=firefox-a "Ripley's Believe It or Not! Encyclopedia of the Bizarre: Amazing, Strange, Inexplicable, Weird and All True!"] New York: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers. 10-ISBN 1-579-12216-7; 13-ISBN 978-1-579-12216-4 (cloth) -- 10-ISBN 1-579-12482-8; 13-ISBN 978-1-579-12482-3 (paper) [OCLC 77546605]
* [http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/item/4200/ "On the Trail of ‘Lucky’ Tower"] from the "Encyclopedia Titanica" website
* Pellegrino, Charles R. (1990). [http://books.google.com/books?id=YNjAV8Iyx3gC&dq=Her+Name,+Titanic&client=firefox-a&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0 "Her Name, Titanic."] New York: HarperCollins. 10-ISBN 0-709-04242-6; 13-ISBN 978-0-709-04242-6 (cloth) -- 10-ISBN 0-380-70892-2; 13-ISBN 978-0-380-70892-5 (paper)

ee also

* Violet Jessop
* Casimir Polemus