Isador and Ida Straus. Lost

Isador Straus, was 67 at the time of the disaster. Emigrating at age 9 from Bavaria to Georgia, he moved to New York and married Ida (Blun) in 1871. He purchased the R.H.Macy company in 1896, eventually turning it into an internationally known name.

With Ida, he raised 7 children. He held a congressional seat for New York state between 1895 - 1897.

The couple were returning from a holiday in Europe when the disaster occurred. Offered a space in a boat, Isador refused to leave before the other men. Ida, in turn, refused to leave her husband. Ida's Body was never recovered, but Isador's was pulled from the Atlantic by the cable ship Macay-Bennet.

The old couple endure as one of the most romantic and heroic elements of the Titanic Tale.