On Thursday, Sept. 28, from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., the Boothbay Region Historical Society will host Commander Bill Wilson, USCG (retired), our resident expert and distinguished lecturer on all things Titanic: her construction, owners, officers, crew, and passengers; her launching, sea trial, ports of call, and cataclysmic sinking; those who survived, those who died, and why the lessons learned from that fateful collision of steel and ice matter to all of us today, 105 years later.

A living encyclopedia of Titanic lore, Cdr. Wilson brings a full career of military service at sea, a lifetime of scholarship, and long-standing membership in the International Titanic Society to his published writings and professional talks about how natural circumstances, global economics, imperial pride, human ingenuity and human negligence conspired to bring about what the poet Thomas Hardy immortalized as “The Convergence of the Twain.” No matter how much you know (or think you know) about the most famous of all oceanic disasters, you will learn what it was really like to be aboard this empress of the White Star Line, from several perspectives – from the bridge, the first-class staterooms, the third-class steerage, the engine rooms and the dining areas. You will feel the shock of hurrying from the opulent comfort of an 882-foot luxury liner to a crowded, 40-foot wooden life boat on a dark, 28-degree night in the iceberg-crowded North Atlantic Ocean. Your sense of that fateful concatenation of necessity and chance will never be the same after this presentation.

So bring your questions about this turning point in modern history to our final program of the 2017 Speakers Series. Prepare to be amazed (e.g., the myth of ‘water-tight compartments’) and amused (the film Titanic cost more than the ship itself?) as Cdr. Wilson regales you with his vast store of knowledge and his sea captain’s ability to spin a haunting yarn of courage and craven selfishness on the high seas!

The Boothbay Region Historical Society’s Reed House museum is located at 72 Oak Street in Boothbay Harbor, just across the street from The First National Bank parking lot. It is open to the public throughout the year, from Thursday to Saturday, 10 am to 2 pm. For more information you may contact the museum at 633-0820, or email brhs@gwi.net.

Please note: Doors open at 4:10. Please arrive early as seating is limited. We regret we cannot reserve seats or allow for standees.