Key facts about Rose Amélie Icard
- Rose Amélie Icard was born in France on October 31, 1872.
- She worked as personal maid to wealthy American widow Martha Stone and had been in her employ before the Titanic voyage.
- Icard boarded at Southampton and shared Martha Stone’s ticket and first class travel arrangements.
- Both women survived in Lifeboat 6.
- Icard was interviewed in France in 1959 and died in La Tronche in 1964 at age 91.
A French maid travelling in first class
Rose Amélie Icard was born in France on October 31, 1872. By the years before Titanic, she was working as personal maid to Martha M. Stone, a wealthy American widow who travelled frequently between the United States and Europe.
Personal servants occupied an unusual position in Titanic’s class system. Icard travelled on a first class ticket and moved within the first class passenger world, but she was aboard as an employee. Her voyage therefore shows how class and work could overlap rather than fitting into a simple rich-passenger category.
Icard and Martha Stone boarded at Southampton
Icard boarded Titanic at Southampton with Martha Stone. Specialist records list her as travelling on Stone’s ticket, number 113572. The two women were associated with cabin B28 in first class.
Martha Stone had spent long periods abroad and was returning toward the United States. Icard had already been in her service for several years, so they came aboard with an established employer-employee relationship rather than meeting during the voyage.
Both women escaped in Lifeboat 6
Rose Icard and Martha Stone were among the occupants of Lifeboat 6. The boat was lowered from the port side relatively early in the evacuation with far fewer people than it could have carried. Margaret Brown, quartermaster Robert Hichens and lookout Frederick Fleet were among the other people associated with the boat.
The story of Lifeboat 6 is often dominated by the later argument between Brown and Hichens, but the full roster shows a much broader group of women, crew and passengers sharing the same small craft in the dark. Icard’s presence restores one of those less famous viewpoints.
A survivor who lived into the 1960s
Icard eventually returned to France and did not marry. Her long life carried her far beyond the period when Titanic was still recent news. By the 1950s, she belonged to a shrinking group of people who could speak about the disaster from personal memory.
In 1959, French journalists interviewed her at length after the loss of the Danish liner Hans Hedtoft renewed public attention on ships and ice. The resulting feature preserved Icard’s recollections for a new generation, although contemporary publicity incorrectly described her as the last French survivor of Titanic.
Rose Icard’s final years
Icard lived in the Grenoble area late in life. She died on July 15, 1964, in La Tronche, near Grenoble, at age 91. She was buried in the local Grand Sablon cemetery.
Her biography adds a working woman’s perspective to first class history. She shared the same deck spaces and lifeboat as wealthy passengers, but her reason for being there was employment. That distinction makes her story especially valuable when comparing the passenger lists with the social structure of life aboard Titanic.
Sources used for this biography
Specialist passenger research supplies Icard’s employment, ticket, survival and later-life details. Lifeboat records are checked against the separate Lifeboat 6 roster.
- Encyclopedia Titanica: Rose Amélie Icard Birth, employment by Martha Stone, ticket, Lifeboat 6, 1959 interview and death.
- Encyclopedia Titanica: Titanic Lifeboat No. 6 Boat history and survivor roster, including Icard and Martha Stone.
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Frequently asked questions
Who was Rose Amélie Icard on Titanic?
Rose Amélie Icard was a French personal maid travelling with her employer, Martha Stone, as a first class passenger-servant.
Did Rose Icard survive Titanic?
Yes. She and Martha Stone survived in Lifeboat 6.
Which lifeboat carried Rose Icard?
She was rescued in Lifeboat 6.
Did Rose Icard speak about Titanic later in life?
Yes. She gave a lengthy interview to French journalists in 1959.
When did Rose Icard die?
She died in La Tronche, France, on July 15, 1964, at age 91.