A DONEGAL historian has once again gone viral with another interesting historical fact – this time for her knowledge of the Titantic.
Katie Charlwood, (35) is a qualified social scientist and the author, presenter, and host of the ‘Who Did What Now’ podcast.
Her recent TikTok on the sinking of the Titanic which details the facts around how the boat spilt in two has been viewed millions of times.
The Titanic has been in the news in recent weeks due to the tragic events of the Titan submersible which went missing.
Emergency services carried out five frantic days of searching but after large pieces of debris were found, all five men who were on board the submersible were presumed dead.
Katie took to TikTok on her Who Did What Now Pod account to explain that many of the Titanic’s survivors reported that the ship split in two before sinking. But their testimonies were not believed because that would have been highly unlikely.
Katie explained, ”The initial discovery of the Titanic shipwreck was so important because it proved that survivors were telling the truth.
“As we know, the majority of the survivors were women and children. And until the electricity gave out, the women on the lifeboats were able to see a lot of what was happening.
“They reported that they saw the stern go up, they heard a loud cracking noise, and then the stern went down again. As we know now that was the Titanic splitting in two. But up until this point, when ships sunk they went down all in one.
“But the men investigating the disaster, they thought the women were suffering some kind of mass hysteria, and the survivors’ testimonies were simply dismissed.
“But upon the discovery of the wreckage, it proved that they were in fact correct.”
Katie is originally from Kilmarnock, Scotland but she has lived in Donegal since she was eight years old and is a former student of Glenties Comprehensive.
Ever since she was a child, she has been interested in the Titanic and has carried out large amounts of research into the tragic ship.
“I have been interested in the Titanic ever since I found an old VHS tape of A Night To Remember in my grandparents’ house as a child.
“I’ve covered different aspects of Titanic history in the past, from debunking conspiracy theories to discussing Turkish baths and toilets upon the luxury liner,” said Katie.
No stranger to success on TikTok, Katie is glad she has been able to make history interesting to millions of people.
“I’m a firm believer that history should be accessible and frankly I’m ecstatic that my research has made its way into the hands of so many.
“I have gone viral before once for discussing the horrific treatment inside Mother Teresa’s dying homes.
“Another was a historical theory on Cinderella’s Prince Charming which hit over two million views and the last one was a video on an ancient Egyptian ceremony which was about 1.3 million if I remember correctly.
“That was the video that actually led to me working with BAFTA-award winning comedienne Luisa Omielan last year,” said Katie.
Katie, who once had the only female-owned comic book store in the country, started the historical Podcast after the pandemic forced her to shut her doors.
She said the Podcast tries to cover things that aren’t taught in the history class.
“In the midst of lockdown I turned to my original love, history. And so Who Did What Now? The history podcast that’s not your history class, was born.
“My specific area of historical expertise are in social history and misconceptions, misinformation and propaganda.
“A lot of what we know from history has been told to us by a very specific demographic.
“Their perception of history was moulded by their personal beliefs, culture and socialisation.
“I try to provide more nuance and dare I say, truer representation of historical situations, events and people. From Lucrezia Borgia, Cleopatra, H. H. Holmes, the five canonical victims of Jack the Ripper and of course Irish-born medical hero Dr James Barry.
“As a historian I feel that it’s my duty to provide accurate information, the good and the unseemly, it’s the right thing to do,” said Katie.
Receive quality journalism wherever you are, on any device. Keep up to date from the comfort of your own home with a digital subscription.
Any time | Any place | Anywhere
SUBSCRIBE TO CURRENT EDITION TODAY
and get access to our archive editions dating back to 2007(CLICK ON THE TITLE BELOW TO SUBSCRIBE)