October 24th, 1894 - February 6th, 1941

He is a Scorpio.

John Collins was born in Belfast, Ireland (modern-day Northern Ireland) to James Henry Collins (1856 - 1908), mariner, and his wife Harriett Russell (1859 - 1921) and he grew up in a Roman Catholic household. Collins was one of 9 children to his parents, 2 of which lost in infancy. His known siblings were: James (September 24th, 1877), Benjamin (October 30th, 1879), Elizabeth (born 1880), Paul (November 6th, 1885), Joseph (April 16th, 1889), Margaret (December 21st, 1891), and Catherine (born 1895). Collins first appears on the 1901 census of Ireland living at Dagmar Street in the Court Ward of Belfast City Centre.

His father passed away around 1908 and by the time of the 1911 census Collins, his widowed mother and a few remaining siblings were by then living at Ballycarry Street in north Belfast's Clifton Ward. Collins at the age of 16 had already left school and was working as a messenger. He would later work at the Ulster Reform Club, a gentleman's club on Royal Avenue in the city centre of Belfast which consisted of liberal Unionists and whose members included Lord Pirrie.

Aboard Titanic/April 14th-15th, 1912:
When he signed onto the Titanic on April 4th, 1912 Collins gave his Belfast address as Ballycarry Street and indicated that the Titanic was his first ship. As a Scullion he received £3 per month. On the evening of April 14th, 1912 Collins stopped work at 9:00 PM and walked up and down the alleyway for a bit, before going to his bunk, where he fell asleep around 10:00 PM. He was jarred away by the collision and put on his trousers. He got out of bed and heard steam being vented from the stokeholds. Leaving his quarters, he proceeded on to the foreword well deck and saw the deck almost packed with ice on the starboard side. Following his journey, he returned below where word was passed that it wasn't serious. Collins went back into his bunk but remained dressed. Soon after he came out again and saw stewards in their white jackets in the passageway directing passengers. Soon word came to get lifebelts on and get up on the upper deck.

He proceeded to the deck, where he met with a steward he had befriended and asked his lifeboat assignment. He was told lifeboat 16 so he went up to that boat and saw firemen and stewards "with their bags ready for No. 16". Sensing there wasn't any hope for him with that boat, he proceeded along the port side saloon deck where he found a steward helping a woman and her 2 children. The steward had one of the children in his arms and the woman was crying. Collins took the child off of the woman and the group made for one of the boats. They saw the collapsible boat taken off of the saloon deck, and then the men forward began shouting to go aft.

Just as they were turning around and making for the stern a wave washed them off the deck and the child that Collins was carrying was washed from his arms. He was held under the surface for a bit by some wreckage and the people around him, but he finally managed to break the surface. He saw the boat that had been taken off, Collapsable B, with a man on it. He swam over to it and pulled himself aboard. The boat drifted about a mile and half from the Titanic, from where she sank, Collins described an explosion followed by the stern popping back in the water. It then turned over and went down. They were drifting about for a few hours, when they saw the lights of the RMS Carpathia, her topmast lights first. With daylight, they saw their own lifeboats and shouted to them. Those standing on the overturn collaspable was taken aboard lifeboat 4 and lifeboat 12. Collins later testified before the U.S. Senate Inquiry into the disaster. 

After The Sinking/Later Life/Death:
Collins returned to his native Belfast but didn't let his disastrous first working voyage deter him and he continued to work at sea into the 1920's and beyond. He lost his mother to a stroke on November 10th, 1921. Collins married in Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church in Ardoyne, Belfast on July 11th, 1919 to Mary McCorry (May 22nd, 1891). Mary hailed from north Belfast and was the daughter of grocer Hugh McCorry and the former Mary Muldoon. Her then current address as stated on Elmfield Street, Belfast whilst Collins address at the time was Hillview Street, Belfast and he was described as a merchant seaman. They went on to have 3 children: Benjamin, Hugh, and Mary.

In later years, Collins lived at Elmfield Street, Belfast with his wife's family. He later suffered from the deleterious effects of syphilis and was soon paralyzed as a result of his illness. He was committed to a psychiatric facility, Belfast Mental Institution in Ballylesson, Northern Ireland where he died on February 6th, 1941. His last surviving child Mary died in Spain in 2011.

Sources:
www.encyclopedia-titanica.org

Rest In Peace John Collins.