The Wreck of the Titan

Morgan Robertson (1861-1915) was an American novelist and short story writer. Born into a seafaring family, Robertson entered the merchant service as a teenager, rising to the rank of first mate by the time of his departure in 1886. With his sailing days behind him, Robertson studied jewelry making and worked in New York City as a diamond setter for 10 years. During this time, he also wrote sea stories and novels, including Futility, or the Wreck of the Titan (1898), a novel with a striking similarity to the sinking of the Titanic in 1912. Despite seeing his work published in McClure's and the Saturday Evening Post, Robertson failed to make a living as a professional writer, leading to a deep dissatisfaction also fueled by the author's claims to have not received credit for his invention of the submarine periscope. Despite his lack of popular success and critical acclaim, Robertson's work is thought to have influenced such writers as Edgar Rice Burroughs and Henry De Vere Stacpoole.