19 Month Old Baby Born on Titanic Identified

The Titanic disaster is one of the most enduring in history, capturing people’s emotions like no other. Leonardo De Caprio and Kate Winslet starred in the biggest grossing movie in history inspired by the tragic story. Over 1,500 people died when the cruise liner was struck by an iceberg and sank. And a DNA test named one of the victims – a Finnish boy aged 13 months. But according to a recent BBC news report, the identity of the boy has now been changed to that of a 19-month-old English child.

DNA Test on Baby’s Remains

The body of the child was found in the North Atlantic six days after the cruise liner sank. The scale of the disaster and the fact that the Titanic was a luxurious liner on her maiden voyage put the ship firmly in the history books. Decades after the liner sank scientists conducted a DNA test on the remains of the baby in 2002. The original test identified the baby as Eino Panula by matching his DNA to that of living family members in Finland.

New DNA Test Reveals Scientists Got it Wrong

However a new test has led Canadian researchers to say the baby was in fact Sidney Leslie Goodwin. The British boy was on the cruise liner with the rest of his family. They had planned to start a new life in America. A further  test revealed the child’s mitochondria DNA molecule did not match the Panula family. In 2002 however the living relatives travelled from Finland to the child’s grave in Canada in a high-profile ceremony. Now, the Goodwin family have been informed that the infant is in fact a relation of theirs.

The Unknown Child

Before the test was taken in 2002, the baby’s identity was unknown and the grave in Nova Scotia was considered to stand for all the children who died in the tragedy, its dedication read to ‘the unknown child’. He was considered a symbol of one of the world’s most memorable disasters and was buried alongside 150 other Titanic victims. Scientists conducted a DNA test from a wrist bone and three teeth. The living Finnish family had thought the baby was part of their legacy. The Titanic was built in Belfast and was on its way from Southampton to New York when it sank in April, 1912.