13 Facts About Dickinson Bishop

Dickinson H Bishop was an American businessman who traveled on board the ill-fated maiden voyage of the RMS Titanic while on his honeymoon with bride Helen, nee Walton.

Dickinson Bishop was 24 when he married Mary Beckwith Lee, an heiress who died in 1910 thirteen days after giving birth to a daughter; the infant died minutes after being born.

Dickinson Bishop married his second wife, Helen Walton, in November 1911; their four-month honeymoon was to Europe and North Africa, arranging the return on the Titanic.

At the inquiry, Helen Dickinson Bishop recalled seeing John Jacob Astor IV urging them to put their lifebelts on and board a boat.

Once in New York, the couple was ordered to report to the Senate Board of Inquiry in Washington DC Helen Dickinson Bishop testified first, stating that she was conversing with Mr and Mrs John Jacob Astor prior to the ship's sinking, when Captain Smith came to speak to Mr Astor.

Helen Dickinson Bishop said there were 12 women, 13 men and three crew members in the lifeboat; she continued by saying many of the men in the boat were not married.

Dickinson Bishop recalled the sailors trying to turn the locks and not being able to close them properly on either side of the ship.

Dickinson Bishop said that he heard no orders to keep the men out of the lifeboats in favor of women and children.

Dickinson Bishop was later rumored to have dressed as a woman to get his spot in the lifeboat; this rumor, in part, led to the divorce of the couple.

On 8 December 1912, Helen gave birth to a boy, Randall Walton Dickinson Bishop, who died two days afterward.

Dickinson Bishop died two months later, on March 16,1916, after falling at a friend's home on a visit to Danville, Illinois.

Dickinson Bishop served in the Army during the First World War.

Dickinson Bishop remained married to Sydney Boyce until her death in November 1950.