Ramón Artagaveytia (July 14, 1840 – April 15, 1912) was a Uruguayan businessman who survived the sinking of the America in 1871. 41 years later, he boarded the Titanic after visiting relatives in Europe and died when the ship sank after colliding with an iceberg, four days into its maiden voyage.
Life Artagaveytia was born in Montevideo, Uruguay, to Ramón Bernardo de Artagaveytía (1796–1852) and María Josefa Gómez (1806–1870). On Christmas Eve of 1871, Ramon boarded the S.S. America while it has harbored in Punta Espinillo, Uruguay. Newspapers reported that the America had been racing another ship into Montevideo harbour and high boiler pressures had led to a fire."South America". The Times. No. 27287. London. 31 January 1872. col D, p. 5."Marine Intelligence". Newcastle Courant. No. 10284. Newcastle upon Tyne. 2 February 1872. There were 114 first class, 20 second class and 30 "popular" class passengers. Only 65 passengers survived. Ramon escaped by jumping into the sea and swimming for his life. Many of the passengers were horribly burned, and the event left Ramon emotionally scarred. He moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1905 to take control of a farm where he lived until 1912.
RMS Titanic 41 years after the America incident, Artagaveytia traveled to Europe to visit his cousin who was the head of the Uruguayan Consulate in Berlin. He then boarded the at Cherbourg on April 10, 1912, to visit the United States before returning to Argentina.
According to a survivor named Julian Padro y Manent, on the night of the sinking, Artagaveytia was observed with two other Uruguayan passengers, Francisco M. Carrau and his nephew, Jose Pedro Carrau; the three men were joking about the situation.(1912) Record of Bodies and Effects (Passengers and Crew S.S.) Artagaveytia's body was discovered by the CS Mackay-Bennett. The following is the description of Ramon's body.Western Times (13 May 1912) THE ASTOR MILLIONS
After Artagaveytia's body was recovered, he was transported to Argentina and buried on April 18, 1912. A letter he wrote to his brother Adolfo and his gold Swiss pocket watch were sold at auction for around $15,000 and $25,000.The Inter-Ocean (18 April 1912) Uruguay's Richest Man a victim
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