17 Mass. residents perished in Titanic disaster, 103 years ago today

More than 100 years ago on Tuesday, the RMS Titanic struck an iceberg in the frigid Atlantic Ocean and began sinking, in a shocking international drama that claimed the lives of 17 Massachusetts residents.

Twenty-eight people from the Commonwealth were on board the ship as it traveled from England to New York, destined for disaster, said Don Lynch, historian for the Titanic Historical Society in Springfield.

The 17 who never made it home were among more than 1,500 passengers and crew members who died late on the night of April 14, 1912, and into the next morning as the ship went down, according to the US Coast Guard’s website.

“It was one of the greatest disasters of the 20th century and one of the greatest maritime disasters ever,” said Lynch, who worked as a historian on James Cameron’s 1997 film, “Titanic.”

Eleven survivors returned to Massachusetts.

The last living American survivor came from Worcester, Lynch said. Lillian Asplund was 5 years old at the time of the sinking, and she died at age 99 in 2006.

Marjorie Newell, of Lexington, was the last living passenger from first class. She was 23 years old when she boarded the Titanic, and died at age 103 in 1992.

“Marjorie never spoke about it until she was in her 90s,” Lynch said. “Her mother didn’t want to be reminded of the way her husband died.”

The glittering ship had been touted as an unsinkable technological marvel, but it was no match for a wandering iceberg.

The disaster led to the creation of the Coast Guard International Ice Patrol, which is based in Connecticut today.

“Titanic is pretty much responsible for all the maritime safety we have today,” Lynch said. “Because of the ice patrol, very few ships have hit an iceberg since then.”

The ice patrol commemorates the anniversary of the tragedy each year by releasing a wreath over the site of the sinking.

coiled from bostonglobe