# Thomas Andrews
**Thomas Andrews** (7 February 1873 – 15 April 1912) was the chief naval architect and, from 1907, managing director of the Belfast shipyard Harland & Wolff, the firm that built Titanic, on which he died during her maiden voyage.[1](https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/people/thomas_andrews) • [2](https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-victim/thomas-andrews.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born / died | 7 February 1873, Ardara House, Comber, County Down; 15 April 1912, lost in the sinking of Titanic, aged 39[2](https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-victim/thomas-andrews.html) |
| Firm | Harland & Wolff, Belfast, builders of Titanic[2](https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-victim/thomas-andrews.html) |
| Top role | Managing director in charge of designing, appointed 1907[1](https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/people/thomas_andrews) • [3](https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/biography-of-the-late-mr-thomas-andrews.html) |
| Career path | Premium apprentice from age 16, rose through the departments, head of the Designing Department at 28[1](https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/people/thomas_andrews) • [2](https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-victim/thomas-andrews.html) |
| Flagship program | Olympic and Titanic, begun December 1908, conceived by his uncle Lord Pirrie[1](https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/people/thomas_andrews) |
| Professional standing | Member of the Institution of Naval Architects from 1901[2](https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-victim/thomas-andrews.html) |
| Namesakes | Thomas Andrews (1843–1916), Comber politician and linen magnate; a living Thomas Andrews, cofounder and CEO of KohortPay (2022–2025)[4](https://www.dib.ie/biography/andrews-thomas-a0167) |
## Identification and disambiguation
The name Thomas Andrews attaches to at least three distinct people. The best-documented is the shipbuilder above, described by BBC History as the chief naval architect at Harland and Wolff during the early 1900s; he died in 1912 and cannot be a present-day chief executive.[1](https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/people/thomas_andrews) A second Thomas Andrews (1843–1916), a politician and linen magnate born 26 February 1843 in Comber, fourth and youngest son of John Andrews and Sarah Drennan, is the subject of a separate Dictionary of Irish Biography entry.[4](https://www.dib.ie/biography/andrews-thomas-a0167)
## Early life and rise at Harland & Wolff
Andrews was born at Ardara House, Comber, a son of the Right Hon. Thomas Andrews and Eliza Pirrie, and a nephew of [Lord Pirrie](https://www.edgepedia.org/william-pirrie-1st-viscount-pirrie), principal owner of Harland & Wolff.[2](https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-victim/thomas-andrews.html) He was educated privately by a tutor until age eleven, then attended the Royal Belfast Academical Institution, entering it in 1884.[1](https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/people/thomas_andrews) • [2](https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-victim/thomas-andrews.html)
**Apprenticeship.** At 16 he left school and entered Harland & Wolff as a premium apprentice, working his way up through the firm's departments.[2](https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-victim/thomas-andrews.html) His contemporary obituary records that in the five years of the apprenticeship he was late on only one morning.[3](https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/biography-of-the-late-mr-thomas-andrews.html) His duties came to include supervising the firm's adoption of labor-saving appliances and modern electrical, mechanical, and marine engineering, acting as Lord Pirrie's assistant, and surveying the harbors of Ireland, Canada, and Germany at Pirrie's instance.[3](https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/biography-of-the-late-mr-thomas-andrews.html)
He became head of the Designing Department at 28, and in 1901 was elected a member of the Institution of Naval Architects.[1](https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/people/thomas_andrews) • [2](https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-victim/thomas-andrews.html) His path to the top job was therefore an internal promotion within a family-connected firm, not a founder's role or an external hire.
## Tenure as managing director, 1907–1912
In 1907 Andrews was made managing director of Harland & Wolff, in charge of designing.[1](https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/people/thomas_andrews) • [3](https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/biography-of-the-late-mr-thomas-andrews.html) • [2](https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-victim/thomas-andrews.html) The obituary describes his working knowledge of the firm's fifty-three branches as equal to that of any of the fifty-three men in charge of them, and his work as supervising, combining, and managing them toward one end.[3](https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/biography-of-the-late-mr-thomas-andrews.html) Encyclopedia Titanica adds that he was familiar with every detail of the construction of the firm's ships.[2](https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-victim/thomas-andrews.html)
The defining program of his tenure was the Olympic class. In December 1908 work began on Olympic and Titanic, the first of the Olympic-class liners conceived by his uncle, Lord Pirrie.[1](https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/people/thomas_andrews) On 24 June 1908 he married Helen Reilly Barbour; a daughter, Elizabeth, was born two years later.[2](https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-victim/thomas-andrews.html)
Andrews boarded Titanic for her maiden voyage and died when she sank on 15 April 1912, aged 39, ending his tenure after roughly five years.[2](https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-victim/thomas-andrews.html)
## References
1. [Thomas Andrews, BBC History](https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/people/thomas_andrews)
2. [Thomas Andrews, Encyclopedia Titanica](https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-victim/thomas-andrews.html)
3. [Biography of the late Mr Thomas Andrews, Encyclopedia Titanica](https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/biography-of-the-late-mr-thomas-andrews.html)
4. [Andrews, Thomas, Dictionary of Irish Biography](https://www.dib.ie/biography/andrews-thomas-a0167)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Economics and business › Business and work › Entrepreneurs and business executives › Corporate chief executives*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 10, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 10, 2026 · Last review: Oct 10, 2026*
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