From his arrival on his first White Star Line vessel Medic in 1899 to his death on Titanic in 1912 (William McMaster Murdoch) Murdoch rose the ranks of White Star Line at an extraordinary rate. Especially considering that in just 12 short years he had risen from 4th Officer of a minor White Star ship to 1st Officer of her flagship. Clearly Murdoch was a very talented sailor who had become trusted by the officials of the line and had a bright career in front of him. In fact, this brings up the questions that will be addressed in this paper in order to assess his guilt. How qualified was Murdoch to be in command of Titanic?, What was Murdoch’s role as 1st Officer?, and Did Murdoch’s actions lead to the incident and/or loss of life
From his arrival on his first White Star Line vessel Medic in 1899 to his death on Titanic in 1912 (William McMaster Murdoch) Murdoch rose the ranks of White Star Line at an extraordinary rate. Especially considering that in just 12 short years he had risen from 4th Officer of a minor White Star ship to 1st Officer of her flagship. Clearly Murdoch was a very talented sailor who had become trusted by the officials of the line and had a bright career in front of him. In fact, this brings up the questions that will be addressed in this paper in order to assess his guilt. How qualified was Murdoch to be in command of Titanic?, What was Murdoch’s role as 1st Officer?, and Did Murdoch’s actions lead to the incident and/or loss of life