Bill Wormstedt author page

Bill Wormstedt biography

Bill Wormstedt is an American Titanic historian and author whose research has concentrated on the sinking of RMS Titanic, particularly the evacuation of the ship and the evidence given by survivors. A retired computer programmer, he became interested in Titanic after reading Walter Lord’s A Night to Remember while at school and later became involved in the online community of Titanic researchers. His articles have appeared in the Titanic Historical Society’s The Titanic Commutator and in Encyclopedia Titanica.

Wormstedt has carried out detailed research into Titanic’s lifeboats and the sequence in which they left the ship. With George Behe and Tad Fitch, he co-authored The Lifeboat Launching Sequence Re-Examined, a study drawing on testimony and other historical evidence to reconstruct the timing and order of the launches. He has also contributed to continuing research identifying which survivors occupied individual lifeboats.

With Tad Fitch and J. Kent Layton, Wormstedt co-wrote On a Sea of Glass: The Life & Loss of the RMS Titanic. First published by Amberley in 2012, the book examines Titanic from its design and construction through its maiden voyage and sinking, drawing extensively on contemporary testimony and accounts from passengers and crew. It was nominated for the Maritime Foundation’s 2012 Mountbatten Award.

Wormstedt was also among the authors of Report Into the Loss of the SS Titanic: A Centennial Reappraisal and Titanic: Solving the Mysteries. He later reunited with Fitch and Layton for Recreating Titanic and Her Sisters: A Visual History, published by The History Press in 2022. Illustrated with original artwork and historical material, the book covers the design, construction and careers of the three Olympic-class liners, Olympic, Titanic and Britannic.