New Delhi: There is a popular saying that a cat has nine lives, but humans have no such luck. The one life we have, we tend to protect it, cherish it, and keep it safe. There are some people who love to take risks in terms of adventure, not bothering about being dead or alive. And then, there are some people, who manage to bluff death once due to sheer luck, only to perish in the same way, albeit no fault of their own. Sorry, the reason we are talking such gibbering is because we are going to talk about a certain Ramon Artagaveytia and his interesting encounters with, well, death.
Ramon Artagaveytia: The first encounter with death
Born in July 1840, in Uruguay’s Montevideo, Ramon Artagaveytia belonged to family which was pretty much familiar with navigations in the sea. On December 24, 1871 Ramon was travelling in the ship America, which sank close to the shore of Punta Espinillo in Uruguay. Reportedly, the ship was racing another ship into Montevideo Harbour and it caught fire due to high boiler pressures. Out of the 164 total passengers, 65 passengers survived with Ramon being one of them. The incident inflicted a deep scar in his emotion.
The second encounter with death
Now let’s fast forward to 1912, around 41 years later. At that time, Ramon was the owner of a farm in Argentina when he decided to travel to Europe to visit his nephew. On April 10, 1912, he boarded the RMS Titanic at Cherbourg-Octeville to visit the United States before returning to Argentina. Ironically, on February 9 that year, Ramon wrote to his cousin Enrique Artagaveytia, mentioning about the tragic sinking of America, the resultant nightmare and hoped to travel safely this time. He also said that due to a telephone on board, Titanic could communicate instantly with the whole world if there was some trouble. Maybe fate smiled a ironic smile at him.
You must have guessed by now the end of this tale. The ‘unsinkable’ Titanic sank on April 15, 1912, and Artagaveytia, like numerous other passengers, perished in the sinking. His body was found around a week after the disaster. His body was sent to Montevideo, Uruguay and was buried in the Cemeterio Central in Montevideo on June 18, 1912.
Ramon Artagaveytia, born in 1840, survived the sinking of the ship America in 1871. Ironically, 41 years later, he perished in the sinking of the Titanic. His letters reveal a poignant awareness of his past near-death experience, juxtaposed with the Titanic’s supposed unsinkability. knowledge Knowledge News, Photos and Videos on General Knowledge
