CHI2000021503 - 15 FEBRUARY 2000 - CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, USA: William Showers, lead guide, walks down a replica of the Titanic's grand staircase at the Museum of Science and industry February 14. The exhibit opens February 18 and will include more than 200 items from the ship. It's the largest gathering of Titanic artifacts ever assembled. rg/raf/ Ray Foli UPI | License Photo
CHI2000021506 - 15 FEBRUARY 2000 - CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, USA: A scale-model of the 880-foot Titanic at the exhibit in the Museum of Science and Industry February 14th in Chicago. The exhibit will show 400 Titanic relics retrieved during the past decade from the ocean bottom. The exhibit, the largest display ever of the ship's artifacts, opens February 18. rg/raf/ Ray Foli UPI | License Photo
NYP99012704 - 27 JANUARY 1999 - NEW YORK , NEW YORK , USA: A rare red and blue broadside ad from the White Star Line, advertising third class passage on the Titanic's return voyage from New York to Europe. The poster was to be auctioned by Swann Galleries in New York City, January 28th and is expected to be sold between $10,000 and $15,000. Most of Titanic's third-class passengers perished on its maiden voyage. iw/ep/Ezio Petersen UPI | License Photo
VAN98081306 - 13 AUG 98 - VANCOUVER, B.C. CANADA: A postcard size photo taken by Chief docks engineer Henry William Clarke of the Titanic leaving Southhampton Dock April 10, 1912 on the river Test for her maiden trans-oceanic voyage. The photo, one of the last taken of the ship, was donated to the Vancouver Maritime museum in 1968 by Clarke's daughter Mrs. R.H. Hooper of Richmond, B.C., where it languished in the museum's photo collection for 30 years. With the current resurgence of Titanic popularity Jim Delgado, the museum's executive director dusted it off to make a larger copy print for the Titanic exhibit after verifying it's authenticity with Ken Marschall, a Titanic expert and illustrator in Long Beach, Calif. hr/Heinz Ruckemann UPI | License Photo
MILWAUKEE, May 13 (UPI) -- The great-granddaughter of a young Armenian immigrant who survived the sinking of the Titanic is to be married in a Titanic exhibit in Milwaukee.
Melissa Vartanian won a contest by sending in David Vartanian's harrowing story, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. The 22-year-old swam to a lifeboat and hung on to the side, resisting passengers who tried to shake him off, until he was rescued.
More than 1,500 people died when the White Star liner sank on April 15, 1912. In steerage, where David Vartanian was traveling, three out of four passengers died.
"It was a tragedy, an absolute tragedy that happened. The difference for my family is that it was ultimately about hope and freedom," Melissa said. "For my family, it brought life."
David Vartanian's young wife had remained in Turkey and finally joined him in the United States in 1923. Vartanian walked with a cane because of the damage his legs suffered the frigid North Atlantic water.
On Friday, Melissa Vartanian and Vache Mikaelian will be married in the "Titanic: The Artifact Exhibit" at the Milwaukee Public Museum. Entering her family history in the contest sponsored by WTMJ-TV's "Morning Blend" show won Melissa Vartanian an all-expenses-paid ceremony and reception.
