Alabaster Sinclair

Sir Alabaster Winston Sinclair III, M.B.E. (23 February 1823- 15 April 1912) was a British businessman, entrepeneur, and aristocrat. Siclair inherited most of his wealth from his father, Alabaster Sinclair II, who owned Sinclair and Sons, Inc., a shoe-making company in Leominster, Herefordshire, along with a large share in the East India Trading Company. Sinclair III became rich fairly quickly in life, having his father die when Alabaster was only 17. To add to his wealth, Sinclair founded several successful businesses including a tea company and a brand of "exotic" cigars.

Early Life

Alabaster Sinclair III was born on the 23 of February 1821 in Southhampton, Hampshire, to Alabaster Sinclair II (1787-1838) and Mary Sinclair (born Mary Llywelyn, Jr., (1807-1861). Sinclair and family moved to Leominster in 1830.

Voyage to America

In 1862, Sinclair, already an established traveller, left Leominster for his home town of Southhampton in order to board the RMS Persia to New York City. Sinclair had always wanted to travel to America, despite his grandfather's constant bias due to having been around during the American Revolution.

Later Years

In 1885, Sinclair's "two-month holiday" ended after 24 years in America. He sailed back to England on the SS Oregon. After settling back in to English life, Sinclair retired in 1890 at age 57. In 1894 he started writing his autobiography entitled "True Brit: The Life and Times of Alabaster Sinclair". His work on the book was suddenly halted in 1896 when the Alaskan Gold Rush started, and Sinclair, seeking an even larger fortune, planned a trip to America. When his liner, the RMS Clousteria foundered a mere three miles after setting sail, Sinclair single-handedly launched a lifeboat and saved the lives of 27 women, 15 men and 3 children. Instead of meeting the RMS Campania, who was en route to rescuing the passengers, Sinclair rowed the lifeboat all the way to New York City, where he immediatley boarded a train for Seattle, Washington. Due to the perplexing move of rowing all the way to America, Sinclair was briefly wanted for questioning by the British government, but the charges were dropped after interviews from other survivors.

Death

In January 1912, 91 year-old Alabaster Sinclair recieved a letter from then-U.S. President William Howard Taft, who had read Sinclair's book and wanted to personally commend him for his services in the American Civil War. Sinclair, who had been seeking to return to America for his final years, made first class reservations for the luxury White Star liner, the RMS Titanic. Sinclair was asleep in his cabin when an official came to tell him to get his life vest on. Sinclair, ignorant as to the extent of the damage, did not comply. He later summoned another official to his cabin to order a brandy. The official, Frederick Greene, who survived the sinking, said in a 1954 interview "I was looking for confused first-class passengers, you know.. to tell them where to go. Sinclair summoned me into his cabin. He asked me for a brandy. I told him that the ship had struck an iceberg. He responded with 'Oh, really... That reminds me, I would like ice with my brandy.' So what did I do? what could I do? The least I could do for the old bastard was get him his brandy. He thanked me and hopped in his bathtub." The interviewer then asked Greene whether he thought Sinclair was a hero for not saving himself. Greene responded: "No, I don't actually think he had the foggiest idea of what was happening." Sinclair went down with the ship at 230 A.M. on April 15th, 1912, reportedly sipping his brandy in his bathtub.