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Copyright 2008 by William A. Mays, Proprietor
An assertion has recently been insinuated in the public forum that Captain Edward Smith of Titanic fame is a relative of current Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, that he is, in fact, Bernanke's maternal great-grandfather. The narrative goes like this: Before Captain Smith was master of the Titanic, he captained the White Star liner Majestic. In 1900, at the western end of Majestic's first trans-Atlantic run after serving as a troop ship in the Boer War, Captain Smith left his room in Manhattan and went down to Second Avenue where he took in a show. It turns out that the captain was a fan of Yiddish humor and would occasionally make the trip to New York's Jewish theatres in order to coax a chuckle out of his stolid British countenance. During the visit in question, he met a young woman and the two became intimate. Captain Smith hadn't married until the age of 37, and had had his first and only officially known child at age 48. But this does not mean that the life-long sailor did not find ways to fulfill certain affectionate needs while at his various ports of call. In this case, he impregnated his Jewish paramour, and the woman, mortified at having to admit to her family that her condition had been the result of an affair with a gentile, asked to accelerate her marriage to the young Jewish man—named Friedman—to whom she was engaged. Soon enough, she gave birth to what the community thought was a somewhat premature son. Young Friedman grew up and married, and the union produced a daughter. The couple named the girl Edna—interestingly, a name that has both Hebrew and English origins—who matured and married Phillip Bernanke. On December 13, 1953, their first son came into their lives and they named him Ben.
We present photos of the Fed Chairman and his alleged great-grandfather below. Though a family resemblance might be apparent to some, we at this journal are of the opinion that the claim is entirely made up. But we'll leave it to the reader to decide what similarities, if any, exist between the Chairman of the Federal Reserve and the Captain of the Titanic.
We present photos of the Fed Chairman and his alleged great-grandfather below. Though a family resemblance might be apparent to some, we at this journal are of the opinion that the claim is entirely made up. But we'll leave it to the reader to decide what similarities, if any, exist between the Chairman of the Federal Reserve and the Captain of the Titanic.
| Ben Bernanke and Titanic's Captain Smith Related? |
March 20, 2008
| Federal Reserve Chairman Thought to Have Infamous Ship Captain in Bloodline |
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke
Captain Edward Smith