WINNIPEG - April 13, 2012 - On the eve of the 100th Anniversary of the Titanic tragedy, Mayor Sam Katz offered the following statement:
Statement from Mayor Sam Katz:
"April 14th, 2012 will mark the 100th year since the RMS Titanic hit an iceberg and the next morning - April 15th, 1912 - the "unsinkable" ship sank. Of the 2,229 passengers and crew on board, 1,516 lost their lives. The sinking of the Titanic is remembered as one of the most dramatic events of the 20th century.
A number of prominent Winnipeg businessmen identified with city development were among those who lost their lives in the disaster, including Mark Fortune, who served on Winnipeg City Council from 1879-1883. Fortune's son Charles, John Hugo Ross, Thomson Beattie, George A. Graham and J. J. Borebank were other notable Winnipeggers aboard. Winnipeggers who pass by Fortune, Hugo and Borebank Streets may never have realized these streets have a connection to the Titanic disaster.
On April 22, 1912, Winnipeg City Council voted in favour of erecting a plaque at City Hall to commemorate the tragic loss and to show its deepest sympathy to the families and friends of these citizens. On this 100th anniversary of the disaster, we invite the public to visit City Hall to view the plaque, found on the lower floor of the Council Building at 510 Main Street."