Last Titanic Witness Turns 100, Recalls Sea Adventures
Angus MacDonald, who is believed to be the last living person to have seen the Titanic ship with his own eyes, has celebrated his 100th birthday by returning to the harbor where he saw the ship leave when he was a baby.
The RMS Titanic sank in the North Atlantic Ocean after hitting an iceberg on April 15, 1912, causing the deaths of 1,517 people. It is still remembered as one of the greatest passenger-carrier disasters in history.
MacDonald was but a baby in his mother's arms, the Belfast Telegraph reported, when he watched the Titanic sail past Belfast, Northern Ireland towards New York City. He followed the way of the ocean himself, and fought in the Suez Crisis and the Indochina wars of the Far East.
He began his sea adventures by transporting linen to Eastern Europe along with his brother, William MacDonald, before travelling to Aruba at the age of 25 to transport oil in lone tankers up North America's coast. It was 17 years before he would return with his wife, Helen, to their native Islandmagee in Northern Ireland. He took his last sea voyage in 1974 when he set sail on The Glenport ship, before retiring for good.
"It's been a long, long road, and I travelled it as well as I could. When I left Belfast's docks (in 1929) they were going full blast. Finally, I have arrived here in this beautiful building and I find everything really super," the master mariner shared, crediting eating fish and drinking buttermilk for his longevity.
"It's a lonely life at sea, but it's been a good life, and I lived it quietly and enjoyed it," he added, revealing that he also received a special birthday card from the Queen.
SEE VIDEO DESCRIBING THE TITANIC'S FEATURES AND PAYS TRIBUTE TO THE GREAT SHIP
