Joseph Philippe Lemercier Laroche

Joseph Philippe Lemercier Laroche (; 26 May 1886 – 15 April 1912) was a Haitian engineer and one of three black passengers on the ill-fated voyage of the Titanic (the other two being his children). He put his pregnant French wife and their two daughters onto a lifeboat; they survived, but he did not.

Voyage The family planned to leave France in late 1912, but Juliette discovered she was pregnant for a third time, and Joseph decided to hasten their travel arrangements so the child could be born in Haiti.

Joseph's mother purchased first class passage for the family aboard the liner . The Laroches learned of the French Line's policy stipulating that children were required to remain in the nursery and were not permitted to dine with their parents. Disapproving of this policy, they exchanged their tickets for a second-class passage aboard .

Titanic was too large for the harbor at Cherbourg, France, so White Star Line tenders transported the passengers boarding from Cherbourg out to the ship aboard .

Louise Laroche died on 28 January 1998 at the age of 87. At the time of her death six Titanic survivors remained.

LaRoche, a three-act opera by Atlanta composer Sharon J. Willis, is based on his life and was part of the 2003 National Black Arts Festival, premiering at the Callanwolde Fine Arts Center on July 18 of that year.