In the early 20th century, the White Star Line built three grand sister ships designed to dominate the Atlantic: the RMS Olympic, the RMS Titanic, and the HMHS Britannic. Remarkably, ocean liner stewardess and nurse Violet Jessop was on board all three when disaster struck. Born in Argentina to Irish immigrants, Jessop took a job with the White Star Line in 1910.
Her streak of terrifying maritime luck began in September 1911 aboard the RMS Olympic. The massive ship collided with a British warship, HMS Hawke, near the Isle of Wight. Though the hull was severely damaged, the Olympic managed to limp back to port without loss of life.
Seven months later, Jessop boarded the RMS Titanic for its maiden voyage. When the giant vessel struck an iceberg on April 14, 1912, Jessop was ordered onto the deck to help non-English speaking passengers. She was handed a lost baby and placed into Lifeboat 16, spending hours in the freezing Atlantic before rescue.
Most people would have sworn off ocean travel forever, but during World War I, Jessop served as a nurse aboard the HMHS Britannic, which was converted into a hospital ship. In November 1916, the Britannic struck a German sea mine in the Aegean Sea and sank in just 55 minutes. As her lifeboat was drawn into the ship's massive spinning propellers, Jessop jumped into the water, bashing her head on the keel but managing to survive once more.
Unfazed, she returned to work on ships after the war, retiring decades later with the undisputed title of 'Miss Unsinkable.'