Millvina Dean

Eliza Gladys Dean (2 February 1912 – 31 May 2009), known as Millvina Dean, was a British civil servant, cartographer, and the last living survivor of the sinking of the RMS Titanic on 15 April 1912 until her death in 2009. At two months old, she was also the youngest passenger aboard.

Family Dean was born at Culverwell House in Branscombe, on the south coast of Devon, England, on 2 February 1912, Her father died on the Titanic; her mother died on 16 September 1975, aged 96; and her brother died on 14 April 1992, aged 81, the 80th anniversary of the iceberg collision.

Millvina Dean's father, Bertram Dean, was born and grew up in Branscombe. He moved to London as an adult, where he married Millvina's mother, Ettie.

Aboard the Titanic In 1912, the Deans decided to leave the United Kingdom and emigrate to the United States; they were planning to relocate to Wichita, Kansas, where Bertram had relatives, and he planned to become a stakeholder in a tobacconist's shop that his cousin owned. Bertram sold the pub and purchased a third class ticket for his family, costing £20 11s 6d,

Dean worked for the British government during World War II by drawing maps, and later served in the purchasing department of a Southampton engineering firm. She worked there as a secretary until her retirement in 1972. In 1998, she travelled to the United States to participate in a Titanic convention in Springfield, Massachusetts, and another in 1999 in Montreal, Quebec. She had also been scheduled to appear at a commemoration of the 94th anniversary of the sinking in 2006, but a broken hip prevented her appearance. She also appeared in the History special Titanic's Final Moments: Missing Pieces. Her brother Bertram, who had been a carpenter, also became active in Titanic-related commemorations until his death at the age of 81. Coincidentally, Bertram died on 14 April 1992, the 80th anniversary of the sinking. In December 2007, she criticised the BBC and its television programme Doctor Who for including an episode with a starship "cruise liner" called the Titanic which was similar in appearance to the historical liner. Speaking from her nursing home, she said: "The Titanic was a tragedy which tore so many families apart. I lost my father and he lies on that wreck. I think it is disrespectful to make entertainment of such a tragedy." A spokeswoman for the show said: "No offence was intended. 'Voyage of the Damned' is set on a spaceship called The Titanic and not a boat."

In December 2008, at age 96, Dean was forced to sell several of her family's possessions to pay for her private medical care following a broken hip. These included a letter sent to her mother from the Titanic Relief Fund, and a suitcase given to her and her mother in New York following the sinking. Their sale raised approximately £32,000. In February 2009, she announced that she would be selling several more items to pay for her increasing nursing home costs which she said exceeded £3,000 a month.

The Millvina Fund In response to the escalating cost of Dean's care, The Millvina Fund was set up in April 2009 by the Belfast, British, and International Titanic Societies with the exclusive aim of taking care of her nursing home bills. It was given a boost by the Irish author and campaigning journalist Don Mullan at the opening of his worldwide Nokia photographic exhibition, A Thousand Reasons for Living (featuring a portrait of Dean), in Dublin on 22 April 2009. Mullan introduced an additional portrait of Dean's hands, as she signed a card for a Titanic autograph collector, which he produced as a limited edition of 100 copies. He made the edition available at €500 each and then challenged the director and stars of the film Titanic (1997) – James Cameron, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Kate Winslet – singer Celine Dion, and the corporations Sony Music, 20th Century Fox, and Paramount Pictures to match him euro-for-euro to support her with her bills. DiCaprio and Winslet led the way with a joint contribution of US$20,000. Cameron and Dion donated US$10,000 each.

Death

After the death of Barbara West Dainton in October 2007, Dean became the last living Titanic survivor. Dean died of pneumonia on the morning of 31 May 2009, aged 97 at a care home in Ashurst, Hampshire; her death coincided with the 98th anniversary of the Titanic'''s launch on 31 May 1911. She was cremated, and on 24 October 2009, her ashes were scattered from a launch at the docks in Southampton where the Titanic set sail.