The incredible story of Richard Norris Williams, the American tennis player who survived the Titanic sinking and then won gold at the Olympics

Wed, 07/24/2024 - 17:07

R Norris Williams and the sinking of the Titanic — Richard Norris Williams survived the sinking of the Titanic and went on to become an Olympic gold-medalist tennis player.
George Rinhart/Corbis/Getty Images; Bettman/Getty Images

Richard Norris Williams survived the sinking of the Titanic by swimming to a lifeboat.
After he was rescued, he refused a doctor's suggestion to amputate his legs.
Williams became the highest-ranking tennis player in the US and won an Olympic gold medal in 1924.

Richard Norris Williams was an accomplished tennis player who competed in the 1924 Paris Olympics, but he's most famous for his incredible survival of the Titanic.

The RMS Titanic, a British passenger ship operated by the White Star Line, set sail on its infamous voyage on April 10, 1912.

Over 2,000 people were aboard the ship when it collided with an iceberg and sank during the early hours of April 15, 1912.

Of all the passengers aboard the Titanic, about 700 people made it into lifeboats. Most of the Titanic victims who did not make it onto a lifeboat either drowned, went down with the ship, or froze to death in the Atlantic Ocean as they waited to be rescued.

The survival rate for first-class male passengers aboard Titanic was just 33%, according to the study "Titanic: A Statistical Exploration," making Williams' story of survival all the more extraordinary.

Richard Norris Williams was one of the most notable people who survived the Titanic sinking.

Williams, commonly known as R. Norris Williams, was born on January 29, 1891, in Geneva, Switzerland, though his parents were from the US, The New York Times reported.

A descendant of Benjamin Franklin, he grew up in a wealthy family as the son of a prominent lawyer, Charles Duane Williams, who taught him how to play tennis as a child.

After a bout of measles halted his original travel plans to the US, where he planned to attend Harvard University, he booked a ticket on the Titanic, the Times reported.

Williams boarded the Titanic with his father in 1912.

R. Norris Williams in 1925 — R. Norris Williams, left, with the president of the National Lawn Tennis Association and Vincent Richards.
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Williams was 21 when he and his father, 51, boarded the ship at Cherbourg, France, on April 10, 1912.

They both held first-class tickets, according to the Mariners' Museum and Park.

Of all the first-class and second-class passengers who boarded the Titanic, 45% of those passengers died in the sinking, according to Britannica, compared to 75% of third-class passengers who died.

Williams' escape from the Titanic may have inspired one of the most memorable scenes in the 1997 movie about its sinking.

Williams later recounted the events of the ship's sinking in an unpublished memoir, which was passed on to his widow and his four children after his death, Main Line Times & Suburban reported.

During the sinking, he freed a passenger trapped in one of the cabins by breaking down a door that was stuck, Sports Illustrated reported. A member of staff then approached him and threatened to fine him for damaging the ship's property.

A similar scene occurs in James Cameron's film "Titanic," when Jack and Rose break down a door during their escape and are reprimanded for damaging White Star Line property.

Williams and his father stayed on the ship as long as possible, but ultimately his father did not survive.

Titanic lifeboat — Survivors of the RMS Titanic in one of the ship's collapsible lifeboats, just before being picked up by the Carpathia, April 15, 1912.
Universal History Archive/Getty Images

Both men either jumped into the water or were washed overboard, The New York Times reported.

Williams later wrote in his memoir, parts of which were republished by Main Line Times & Suburban in 2012, that his father was crushed by a falling funnel, though his accounts differed slightly at different points in his life.

To escape the sinking boat, Williams removed his shoes and swam to a lifeboat about 100 yards away, although he recalled being weighed down by a fur coat he was wearing over his life jacket, The New York Times reported.

He reportedly held on to the lifeboat before climbing into it, and sat up to his knees in freezing water and waited to be rescued.

The Times reported that "only about a dozen" of the passengers in Williams' lifeboat survived.

Williams sat in knee-deep water for several hours until he was brought aboard the Carpathia.

Titanic rescue ship — The arrival of the Carpathia with rescued passengers of the Titanic
George Rinhart/Getty Images

Once on the Carpathia, Williams was told by a doctor that his frostbitten legs would need to be amputated.

However, the aspiring tennis professional refused.

"I refuse to give you permission," Williams said, according to his 1968 obituary. "I'm going to need these legs."

Determined to save his legs, Williams walked around Carpathia's deck every two hours, eventually regaining sensation in his lower body, The New York Times reported.

Williams went on to win multiple tennis titles and he won a gold medal at the 1924 Paris Olympics.

A high-angle view of the opening ceremony at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

The same year that he survived the Titanic sinking, Williams won the US National Tennis Championships in mixed doubles alongside Mark K. Brown and ranked among the top 10 players in the world, according to the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

In 1916, he won the national title again and became the highest-ranked tennis player in the US.

In addition to his prowess on the tennis course, Williams also served in the US Army during World War I and was awarded two honors, the Légion d'Honneur and the Croix de Guerre, according to the Olympics.

After the war, Williams resumed his tennis career, and in 1920, he won a Wimbledon doubles title, The New York Times reported.

However, his tennis career reached its peak at the 1924 Paris Olympics when Williams won a mixed-doubles gold medal with his tennis partner, Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman.

Williams married twice and had four children after surviving the disaster.

Richard Norris Williams and his fiance Jean Haddock in 1919 — Richard Norris Williams and his fiancé Jean Haddock in 1919.
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According to the Olympics, after retiring from professional tennis, Williams worked as an investment banker and then served as president of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

He was named a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1957, nine years before his death at the age of 77.

Williams died on June 2, 1968, in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.

According to his New York Times obituary, he was survived by his widow, Frances "Sue" Gillmore Williams, three sons, and one daughter.

His widow died on June 13, 2001, according to Main Line Times and Suburban.

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The incredible story of Richard Norris Williams, the American tennis player who…