About Joseph Boxhall
Commander Joseph Groves Boxhall (23 March 1884 – 25 April 1967) was a British merchant seaman and naval officer who was the fourth officer on the RMS Titanic. When the ship struck the iceberg, Boxhall was on watch and subsequently became the only on-watch officer that night to survive the sinking. During the sinking, Boxhall was in charge of firing distress rockets in an attempt to signal a nearby ship, now known to be the SS Californian, and also made a second calculation of the Titanic's final position. He was ordered into Emergency Cutter No. 2 and, after the ship sank, was responsible for lighting green flares which helped attract the RMS Carpathia to the wrecksite, subsequently leading to a successful rescue of all the lifeboats. He subsequently took part in both the U.S. and U.K. inquiries. Boxhall went on to serve in World War I with the Royal Naval Reserve. He rose to senior officer in the Merchant Navy, retiring from seafaring in 1940. Though he seldom spoke about Titanic, in retirement, he was persuaded to help out with the production of the film, A Night to Remember. He later gave an interview on the BBC on the 50th anniversary of the sinking. At the time of his death in 1967, Boxhall was the last living officer of Titanic. Boxhall followed in the footsteps of his ancestors on 2 June 1899, when he joined his first ship, a barque of the William Thomas Line of Liverpool. When the ship struck the iceberg, Boxhall was on watch and subsequently became the only on-duty officer that night to survive the sinking. At the time of his death, Boxhall was the last surviving former officer of Titanic.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.